The Return

by tubendo

The ice of the South Pole hides many things, and when Azula and Sokka are confronted by something far greater than themselves, the strength of their relationship is tested, and the Princess has to decide whose path she will follow: the path of her father or the path of freedom. (Sequel to Into The Fire)

29. Chapter 29

Though she preferred the comfortable linens of her bedroom at the base, Ty Lee was admittedly pleased to be out in nature again. Though she hadn't always found it as nice, she had always appreciated fresh air and the breeze on her face. Without Azula's guards or an army to protect them, she realised that perhaps she mightn't be as safe as she would like to be, but she was certain that Appa could get them out of there in no time if needed. She had even missed that big fluff ball when she was stuck walking and riding everywhere, and not just because it was easier to fly; he was nice to sit on and chat with, even if he didn't respond. She could just see it in his eyes, that he had to understand some of what they were saying; maybe he didn't, and maybe she was just being hopeful, but whenever he'd roar at them for going off to do their own things without him, she felt like he knew he was being excluded for being as big and noticeable as he was.

She'd missed Aang and Katara too, but unlike Appa and Momo, they actually talked back to her; both of them were quite friendly, though it seemed that the Water Tribe girl got in bad moods often, for whatever reason, while like herself, the young Air Nomad was always cheery and looking to brighten the moods of others. She appreciated that there was somebody else in the group that understood positivity like she did; it wasn't useless or a distraction from danger, it was something that could help bring them together.

Toph was boisterous and loud, unlike those two, and she was an unusual addition to the group; being as bull-headed as she was, she expected that she and Azula mightn't get along, though they both seemed to look at things pragmatically, even if the Earth Kingdom girl seemed to take everything a whole lot less seriously. The Princess wasn't the one who seemed most annoyed by her attitude, but instead it was Katara, though the two of them seemed to get along, the Water Tribe girl enjoying a few of her jokes, especially those aimed at her brother.

Now that they had landed in the woods, and that the sun was already below the horizon, they had to camp; everyone was sitting around the campfire, which warmed her hands as she raised them up. The wind was chilly, coming down through the valley they had set their camp up in, and the fire had kept them all warm, though obviously, Aang was less fazed than the rest of them with his airbending to keep himself warm.

Dinner was cooking in a pot in front of them, thanks to the cooking skills of Katara, though the rest of them had pitched in on her directions; it was some kind of stew, made of the vegetables, lentils and rice that they had on the saddle, and though that wasn't the most appealing thing to eat, there was at the very least a few spices thrown in, which the Water Tribe girl had conceded as being quite good after experiencing Fire Nation cuisine at the base.

"Well, it smells good." Aang spoke up, before glancing around at everyone else, obviously noticing that they'd all been quiet for a bit; everyone was tired, and after gathering the wood for the fire and making dinner, they all just wanted to rest, "Uh... I guess we're all really tired." he acknowledged, before patting Momo, who had been resting on his lap.

"No, not really. I'm just relaxing for a bit." Sokka spoke up, "I'm hungry... but once I've eaten, I'll be ready to wait out any intruders." he assured them, making Toph snicker.

"You know I'm the only one who needs to do anything. I can sense everything that touches the ground far further than any of you can see." she argued, and Aang scrunched his lips up.

"That's on the ground." he argued, "In the air, I can see way more."

"But can you see past the trees? They're in the way, right?" she asked, and he crossed his arms.

"If you weren't so good at figuring out lies, I could have just said leaves were see-through."

"Pfft..." Ty Lee snickered, "Imagine that? Then there'd be no shade." she made a simple observation of what he had said.

"Huh, that's actually a good point." Toph admitted, "If they were invisible, then I wouldn't feel any better sitting under a tree than anywhere else." she argued, "Even without my seismic sense, that lie is easy to... see through." she argued with a smug look, her play on words not missed by anyone.

"That was a terrible pun." Azula sighed, "Please, we have standards when it comes to humour."

"We don't have to make it a competition, because I would win." she retorted, and that made the others snicker at her quip; the Princess seemed a bit miffed by that, but swallowed her pride quickly enough.

"I have no intention to become the jester of this group, but if you do, feel free."

"Well, I'm a fighter first and foremost, and there's literally somebody from a circus sitting right next you." she pointed, albeit a bit off angle, at Ty Lee, who scrunched her lips up.

"I'm not a clown." she reminded her, "I do acrobatics."

"And kidnappings." Sokka added, seeming proud in his tone, "Oh, that will never get old." he admitted, glancing to face her with a smile.

"Well, I mean, that was Renshu's idea, right?"

"Don't give the man too much credit. Anybody could have thought of a good old decapitation strike... I mean, shit, that's how I met Azula." he acknowledged, gesturing to his girlfriend, "It's just a basic strategy."

"I will remind you your decapitation strike was a terrible move and nearly got you killed." the Princess stressed, before raising a brow, "Though you did successfully foil the Captain's own."

"Yeah, by stopping him from beating our dad to a pulp." Katara reminded her of what that actually meant, narrowing her eyes for a few moments, "Well, I guess we've gone pretty far since then."

"Yeah, maybe he'll meet Dad and they'll shake hands instead of trying to kill each other." Sokka suggested, perhaps in jest, and that seemed to amuse his girlfriend, who pursed her lips at the thought of that.

"He does his job, and that involves protecting you as well." Azula noted, "Hakoda ought to be singing praises of Renshu and his work."

"I mean, I don't see anybody heaping praise on your uncle because he wants the other nations to be free. Past crimes... well, they're not so easily forgotten." the Water Tribesman warned her, clearly knowing how the other nations felt about what the Fire Nation had done, even if he had come to make peace with Azula and her guards during his time with them.

"And what do you call your little escapade on my ship, Sokka? A completely justifiable act of aggression on a ship on a civil mission?" she asked him, and Toph tapped her chin with interest.

"You know, as much as I think the ash-makers should eat dirt, Zappy over here has a point." she acknowledged, making everyone except Azula, Ty Lee included, snicker and chuckle at her chosen nickname for the Princess.

"Excuse me?" she turned to face the Earth Kingdom girl with a confused look, rather than the annoyed one she was expecting.

"Taking hostages is a no go." she acknowledged, "It's unfair, and plus, we don't go around apprehending Fire Nation civilians."

"But Azula isn't a civilian." Sokka retorted, "I mean, she's the Fire Lord, and before that she was a Princess. Her whole thing is commanding people around... and that whole civil mission thing was a lie, wasn't it?"

"Okay, you're right there, Sokka." the Princess conceded, seeming frustrated that he was right, "I am not a civilian, and attacking me perhaps isn't any different to going after a common soldier. In the eyes of our enemies I am just as much a threat, even if I'm not wearing armour and away from the battlefield."

"And that's why we've got to stay hidden." Katara spoke up, "If Ozai's lackeys find out about us being in Shengchang, it's only a matter of time before we're in danger. They'll want to take us prisoner... or worse."

"Definitely worse." Ty Lee mumbled, and the Princess tilted her head, not seeming as concerned about the danger as she was.

"That's assuming he has control over the city." Azula acknowledged, "None of my brother's loyalists are stationed there, from what the latest reports told me, but that doesn't mean the local authorities will just bend to my father because of his puff-piece declarations."

"I thought you believed them." the acrobat recalled her reaction to Ozai's initial declaration, "He's taken over the capital, and we haven't heard anything about Zuko and Mai since."

"I don't have any evidence to believe my brother is either alive or dead." she retorted, "And that's all I'm going to say on the matter." she stressed, clearly not wanting the conversation to linger on that matter.

"Uh... yeah, I don't think anybody wants to talk about that." Aang conceded, "How about this city... uh, Shengchang? I've heard of it, but that was before I was frozen. What's it like?"

"Not some backwash Earth Kingdom town anymore, that's for sure." Azula clarified, presumably referring to whatever the place had been like before the Fire Nation colonised the province, "It's a large, well-fortified city with a large manufacturing industry. The best developed colony away from the coast, helped by the iron mines in the nearby hills; steel is the greatest weapon my nation has to offer."

"Well, that's until somebody figures out how to make it just as well." Sokka argued, and Katara scrunched her lips up.

"Or if somebody figures out how to bend it." she suggested, making the others look at her with confused faces.

"Bend it?" Aang asked, "I've never heard of anybody doing that."

"I mean, iron's like... a rock. Or does it come from a rock? Right?" she asked them, and the Princess snapped a finger, her approving smirk telling Ty Lee she thought that was an interesting idea.

"Correct." Azula confirmed, "I haven't heard of earthbenders trying to bend it before, and we've made our prisoners and fortresses out of steel for a reason. It is in abundance, and earthbenders find it hard to pierce with mere stones."

"Sounds like a job for the greatest earthbender alive." Toph declared confidently, cracking her knuckles, "How 'bout you let me try?" she asked, offering a hand to Sokka, who looked at her with slight confusion.

"What says I even have metal on me?" he asked, "My weapons are carved from bone."

"Oh, yeah, just like the cooking utensils." she observed, "You Water Tribe people must really be poor."

"There is nowhere for us to get metal, and even then we can't smelt it. We don't have coal... and barely any wood if that'd work. Things aren't so easy when all you have is seals, ice and fish." Sokka tried to defend against her rather insulting description of his people, even if it was clearly true; that was the Fire Nation's fault, after all, and it hadn't taken much talking with Sokka and Katara to figure that out.

She turned her eyes to Azula, noting she seemed to have taken the same thing out of what he had said; usually she would be eager to pipe in, whether to back him up or insult him, but at that moment, she just seemed conflicted, if not frustrated.

"I have something." the Princess addressed Toph, reaching into her boot, out of which she drew a steel dagger; Aang and Katara both seemed a little surprised by that, and the former pointed at the blade as she showed it off.

"Why do you have that? Isn't it... kind of useless? You're pretty good at firebending."

"Well, I am, but you never know what kind of danger we might get into. If I get thrown in a freezer by some kidnappers, then I'll need a way to fight without my bending."

"You know using chi-blockers would be way easier than a freezer, right?" Ty Lee observed something she thought would have been obvious to her friend, given her experience sparring her friend, who more often than not, was able to get a few hits in and disable her bending.

"Freezers aren't portable, unless it's on a ship." she conceded, before narrowing her eyes, "But they have a longer lasting effect." she acknowledged, before Toph raised a finger.

"Breaking your arms and legs would be better." she argued, and that made everyone else uncomfortable, Ty Lee included.

"Okay... that was a bit much." she admitted, eyeing the earthbender with unease, "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true." she retorted, without even a bit of doubt in her tone, "What do you think people do with dangerous prisoners? Just chain them up and hope they play nice."

"Ty Lee, let me ask, if Gyoko had been in Jianren's hands and not our own, what do you think he would have done with him?" Azula asked her, and she didn't feel the need to answer.

She had a good idea about what the earthbenders would have done with him, if they hadn't killed him; it was clear enough in the way that they already treated their enemies on the field of battle.

"The point is, you should be worried about them using chi-blockers on you. If your dad is telling them anything, it might have to do with what he's seen."

"What, you're saying Ozai saw you kick Azula's butt?" Sokka asked her with an interested look in his eyes, and a smile on his lips.

"She didn't win, she just paralysed my arms."

"And that isn't a defeat?" Toph asked her, sounding sceptical, "Please, tell us how you got out of that one, your majesty.

"I can breathe fire and bend with my feet." she gave her a vague answer, but it wasn't a lie; she had been able to shoot a bolt of fire out of her heel, and that tripped Ty Lee over, giving Azula enough time to roll over and put her in a headlock with her legs.

She was glad that she didn't detail that story, given it was a little embarrassing; of all the ways she had lost to Azula in the past, that had to be one of the more cringeworthy ones.

"So, you got your butt kicked." Sokka noted, smugly looking her way now that he realised just like himself, she lost to Azula as well.

"Well, it was my shin she got." she conceded, before Azula let out a light chuckle, covering her mouth as she did so.

"That was a good day."

"What, 'cause you got to show off in front of your crazy dad?" Toph retorted, and everyone, barring the Princess, winced at that quip; she kept her mouth shut, just eyeing the earthbender down, even if the latter couldn't even see her cold glare.

"Correct... and I never said I didn't regret things in my life. Beating Ty Lee, however, wasn't one of them. Overconfidence isn't productive to winning fights."

"Says the most cocky person here." Katara scoffed at her claim, and the Princess gestured to Toph.

"No, I'm pretty sure Toph here stole the mochi right out of my hands." she metaphorically declared the Earth Kingdom girl's own cockiness, which admittedly was rather extreme; Ty Lee had had to deal with Azula's cockiness and arrogance for the vast majority of the past twelve years of her life, yet Toph seemed a level above when it came to confidence.

That wasn't to say she didn't admire it; Toph had a colourful, bright aura, even better than the one she'd seen on Azula after they reunited at the circus. The earthbender just exuded confidence, and it was more than impressive that she could feel that way, despite the relative unfamiliarity she had with the people she was now staying with, and their present circumstances. She just didn't seem to get anxious around them, though that was understandable for somebody who'd spent quite some time more worried about hiding from or fighting Fire Nation soldiers. There weren't any soldiers nearby, or at least, no evidence of their presence, and that kept everyone at relative ease.

"Well, my attitude is justified. I am the best at what I do." Toph triumphantly declared, before sniffing at the pot that was cooking between them, "Uh, so, is this gruel gonna be done soon?"

Katara leaned forward, and stirred a spoon into the pot, before taking some of the stew and blowing on it; she took a small bite, before nodding.

"It tastes good. I'll just let it cool down for a bit." she suggested, and Sokka narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, we have both a firebender and two waterbenders here." he reminded them of their bending abilities, "I'm pretty sure somebody here could cool the stew down a little bit."

"Heat transfer is a rather advanced technique." Azula acknowledged, before turning her eyes to Katara, "I never managed to master it." she admitted, and the Water Tribe girl pursed her lips.

"Well, I guess that leaves us two." she addressed Aang, before reaching towards the pot with her right hand, gripping it at the pot, before drawing her hand back; within a few moments, the steam that had been emanating from the pot dissipated, with some of it condensing and falling as water, like a light splatter of rain.

Toph raised a brow, "Huh... did you just make it rain?" she asked the waterbender, who shook her head.

"No, I just cooled down the water in the pot... the steam just became water again." she clarified, before glancing around, "So, who wants to get some bowls out?"

"I'll get them." Sokka decided before anybody else had a chance to respond, and paced over to the bags that were sitting beside Appa; he reached inside before pulling out a set of ceramic bowls inside, and turned to face them, "I just realise is this pretty stupid if Aang can just airbend the bowls out of the bag."

"Huh I didn't think of that." the Air Nomad conceded, before Sokka approached, lazily tossing each person their bowl, and everyone was able to catch them, given they all had good reflexes, or in Toph's case, seismic sense, which allowed her to grab it as it was being tossed right at her.

"That'll never not be cool." Ty Lee admitted quietly, and the already confident earthbender cocked a smirk.

"Oh, what can I say, I define cool." she declared, before sitting herself back down, "But... uh, somebody gonna actually get the food?"

Katara picked up a large ladle, made out of bone like her other Water Tribe utensils, and dropped it into the pot, taking some of the stew out, putting it into the closest bowl to her, that being Aang's. Then, everyone offered their bowls out, and she poured some stew into each of them; though it was a bit awkward with her leaning over the pot, she got it down quickly, allowing them all to start eating, though Azula quickly noted something was missing.

"Uh... Sokka, did you forget the chopsticks?" she asked her boyfriend, whose lips pursed into a smug smile as he revealed his left hand, showing the sets of chopsticks he was holding.

"Hey, you guys were pretty good at catching. Try again." he suggested, before tossing each of them chopsticks in a quick succession; everybody was able to catch theirs, but Katara struggled a little more, not having the best reflexes, at least compared to somebody like Azula, who had trained almost everyday as an adolescent to improve her fighting abilities.

When she nearly dropped them out of her hands, Aang grasped her hands, forcing them shut, giving her a firm grip on the chopsticks; their eyes met for a moment, and Ty Lee almost giggled at the looks they gave each other. Katara immediately turned around, eyeing her bowl of stew, while Aang awkwardly looked at everyone else.

"Thanks." the Water Tribe girl quietly responded to what had happened, before she cleared her throat, "Let's eat." she decided, and with that, everyone dug into their bowls.

The stew smelled a bit weird to Ty Lee, but the spices inside made it taste quite good, and it had the right texture to just melt in her mouth, and she was able to chew it down with ease. Though she'd have preferred some fried vegetables or meat, or some snack food, the stew wasn't as weird and rustic as she thought it would have been; though she hadn't eaten Katara's cooking for a good two months or so, it seemed that she'd actually honed her cooking skills. She obviously wasn't too familiar with the wide range of ingredients she could get in the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation, compared to her home, where Ty Lee knew for a fact they only ate whatever they could find in the sea, or if they were lucky, whatever animals lived in the icy tundra.

It was a bit sloppy, and she had to pull her face up close to the bowl to stop the noodles or vegetables from dripping onto her clothes; she didn't want to ruin the one good outfit she had with her, so she kept her bowl close to her face, and ate cautiously; Sokka had noticed her doing this, and began to snicker as she'd slurp down the noodles with the bowl right at her face, and she decided to just ignore him, enjoying the meal with her eyes focused on the fire instead.

"This is really good, Katara. It reminds me of what we'd eat at the temple... though we had a lot of beans and berries in our stews." he explained, and Azula raised a brow.

"So, are beans like your substitute for meat?" she asked him, and he scrunched his lips up.

"Uh, I guess it is." he noted, "I never thought about it that way."

"Maybe we should get some... so our vegetarian meals aren't just all sloppy vegetables." Sokka suggested, and Katara raised a brow, seeming a little offended.

"I could fry them if you like." she suggested, and he glanced towards the fire for a few moments.

"Don't throw my food in the fire." he requested, before taking another scoop of the stew into his mouth, "It's still decent though."

"Oh, I'm so glad my cooking reaches your benchmark, Sokka." his sister sarcastically retorted, "Maybe you should try and cook for yourself."

"I can." he mumbled, and she chuckled at that, seeming to be doubtful of his claim.

"I haven't seen you try and do that in a while."

"Well, you're better than me." he argued, "And I cooked all the time when me and Azula were sailing back to the South Pole, because wouldn't you know, there's actually things she isn't great at." he explained his own ability to cook, dunking on his girlfriend's in the process, and the Princess didn't seem all too pleased about that.

"I'll have you know Gran-Gran taught me how to make seaweed noodles and stewed sea-prunes." she argued calmly, hiding her offence through a stern expression, before grimacing, "Even if the latter is a terrible excuse for food, I can make it."

"Okay, we don't all need to brag about our cooking skills, it's irrelevant." Toph spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "Katara is the one who made dinner, after all."

"Well, thank you, Toph." she smiled at her, seeming quite appreciative of her comment; that appreciation quickly faded as the Earth Kingdom girl snickered.

"That doesn't mean I think it's any good." she clarified, "Better than rice crackers, though." she acknowledged, before taking another bite from the bowl.

"I think you're all being unfairly critical of my cooking." the Water Tribe girl admitted with crossed arms.

"I think it's good." Ty Lee piped up as she finished swallowing a bite of her dinner, and the other girl smiled back at her, before sighing.

"Ah... well, I guess nice people are outnumbered here." she admitted, and both Sokka and Toph snickered at her comment.

"Oh, that's a good one." Sokka chuckled at her words, before placing a hand on his sister's shoulder, "You do realise I can have negative opinions on things, and still want to... I dunno, do good things. Not everyone has to be so happy-go-lucky like Ty Lee or Aang." he argued, and Toph snapped a finger.

"Wow, that's the most sense he's made all day!" she congratulated him, making Sokka cringe, and he slumped his shoulders over as he continued to eat his meal.

Ty Lee snickered at his reaction, before continuing on with her meal, which she knew she ought to eat before it got cold; she was sure the meal probably wouldn't be very good once it wasn't hot out of the pot. The others fell silent as they ate their own meals; unsurprisingly, Sokka finished his bowl first, and eyed the pot for a few moments.

"You're going to ask for seconds, right?" his sister asked him, and he scrunched his lips up.

"Uh, no, actually... I gotta go... uh, you know." he explained, rising to his feet, "Thanks for dinner, Katara."

She nodded in response, eyeing her brother as he strode away from the campfire; everyone else, one by one, finished their meals, and once Ty Lee had eaten hers, she eyed Azula, who had been idly glancing off into the woods.

"You worried?" she asked her quietly, hoping that she wasn't; her friend had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, and she didn't wish for a second to be in her position, even if she had her caring, somewhat funny boyfriend to help her out with all she had to deal with.

"Right now?" she asked her with a raised brow, and Ty Lee nodded, the Princess letting out a huff, "Do you want to go for a walk?" she offered, and Katara cleared her throat, gesturing to the dark woods around them.

"It's getting dark out." she spoke up to warn them, before her expression broke into a wince upon realising that warning was redundant in the eyes of a firebender.

As expected, Azula snapped her fingers on her right hand, creating a small torch of blue flames, which momentarily lit up her face, obscuring the orange hue coming off of the campfire.

"The dark is a joke... And I was there in the winter, remember?" she asked the Water Tribe girl, who nodded, turning her gaze away as if she were ashamed of forgetting that, "Well, it's not as if you forgot Toph was blind."

"Ha!" Toph almost shouted, "People do do that alot, seeing blind girls usually can't kick people's butts." she acknowledged her impressive abilities, though she seemed a little disheartened, "I don't really care, honestly. I prefer if everybody treats me like I'm normal... Well that, and an awesome earthbender who can strike fear into the hearts of ash-makers everywhere."

"I have yet to hear anyone actually know who you are." Azula retorted as she eyed her nails while gazing into the fire, "You can't be that impressive if people aren't talking about you."

"Oh, they will." she smirked, unfazed by her disbelief, making Ty Lee snicker, before smiling, realising how both their egos were great weapons, perhaps just as much as their bending.

"Your confidence is really inspiring." she acknowledged how she felt, making both of them turn to face her.

"Thanks." they both said, almost in unison, making Toph cackle.

"How in- why would she say that to you? She's already your best friend or whatever." she asked Ty Lee, who scrunched her lips, unsure why she had thought she was specifically talking to her.

"I was actually talking to both of you." she corrected them, making Aang and Katara giggle, clearly finding the whole situation a bit ridiculous, because it certainly was.

"Very funny." Azula sarcastically commented, "So, are we going?" she asked her friend, and she glanced off into the woods, in the direction Sokka had gone.

"To get away from him?" she whispered, and Azula scoffed.

"You know I actually want to spend time with people other than that idiot." she told her something that ought to be obvious; Ty Lee was just thinking maybe that she was sick of Sokka after being stuck with him for weeks on end, but perhaps it was really just that Azula wanted to spend some time with her instead.

"Oh, did you want to go fishing again?" Katara asked the Princess in jest, and Azula just rolled her eyes.

"You remember that you got the canoe destroyed before we even found Aang, right?" she questioned the Water Tribe girl, who raised a fist confidently.

"That was before I learned waterbending properly. I could rip those icebergs to shreds if I was there right now." she argued, and Azula pursed her lips, seeming to approve of such an idea.

"Well, I'd like to see that." she conceded, before Ty Lee stood up beside her.

"We're not going to the South Pole anytime soon, are we?" she asked, unsure if they intended to return to Sokka and Katara's home, before the Fire Nation was firmly under her control.

"Maybe back to the North Pole, so I can retrieve my battleship, and War Minister Qin, before he gets any smart ideas about giving my father the airship designs." she acknowledged something they might do, and Ty Lee furrowed a brow.

"And what about those reparations? You definitely promised the Chief some after we broke the city's seawall... and nearly got the spirit killed." she recalled, and the Princess shrugged her shoulders as she turned her heels.

"We'll deal with that when we get to it." she dismissed the issue immediately, and Ty Lee decided to just go with it, not wanting to discuss something serious and political while they went on their walk.

She gave the others a wave before she took off after her friend, who was already walking off into the woods, lighting herself a torch in her left palm; once she caught up, she slowed her pace, and eyed her friend's face, unsure what exactly was going through her head, and why she wanted to go on a walk. Maybe she was just trying to clear her head, or maybe, consider something that was on her mind; obviously, it could be concerning the upcoming fight they might face in Shengchang, but if it was, then she'd expect she want to talk with Sokka, given he had a far greater interest in strategy than Ty Lee did.

"So... uh, how are you feeling?" she asked Azula, whose gaze rose up towards the canopy of the woods.

"Like I'm setting myself up for another failure." she bluntly admitted, though her voice was soft, as if she didn't want anyone to hear her say it.

"We're not going to fail. We'll stop your dad and fix everything... I mean, make it better." she tried to reassure her friend, but her solemn expression didn't falter.

"Oh, I'm more than ready to win." she assured her, "This isn't about victory any more. I'm going to be the Fire Lord."

"So... what's the problem?" she asked her, grasping her by the arm, "How can you fail?"

"Easily enough." she chuckled, smiling at her with a fearful expression that was so rare to see that Ty Lee thought she was imagining it, "I know I keep using fake names to hide who I am... but I'm not just hiding that I'm the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation. I'm hiding who I've become."

"A better person?" Ty Lee asked, "How is that a bad thing?" she questioned further, concerned that Azula would think that her own self-reflection and growth as an individual would somehow lead to failure, "You're more ready to be the Fire Lord than you've ever been."

"You're confusing the desire to rule with the wisdom to do so." she acknowledged, before narrowing her eyes, "This is all happening because of what Zuko did." she warned her, before continuing further into the woods; Ty Lee stood still for a few moments to consider what she ought to say.

"This isn't his fault. Your dad's... he's the crazy one!" she declared, and the Princess turned her head around, aiming her flame covered palm at her.

"What do you think would have happened if Zuko hadn't 'killed' Father? I was already trusting Sokka, learning how to better understand the world and those people I called my lessers." she acknowledged where she had been, mentally, at the time that she learned of Ozai's defeat, which obviously came as a great shock.

"You... I don't know... I don't know what you would have done." she conceded, knowing that she couldn't be certain of what was going through her friend's head.

"Getting shipwrecked with Sokka was simply the catalyst. I- I wasn't going to stay with my old path much longer. I knew he was right, even if I thought he was a fool who deserved to be imprisoned for even daring to speak against me." she argued, before clenching her fist shut, snuffing out the flames, "I didn't want to be just like Ozai, but... I was consumed by my rage. I thought Zuko wanted to steal my place, and make himself the Fire Lord our father always told me I was meant to be."

"So... you're saying... you're saying you were willing to go and learn about the world, leave everything behind."

"You did it, Ty." she reminded her, "I mean, you got stuck with your sisters, but you tried, at least. I only got that chance after Zuko beat me... and I knew that you were right, in the end. Our lives of luxury and ease were just a curtain, masking the world from our eyes. I might have trained to be a master firebender, exhausting myself in training and learning everything I could to be a perfect heir, but I never truly struggled... not until I washed up on that beach."

"I didn't... I didn't really struggle much either. I thought my complaints about my parents' attention getting split amongst me and my sisters were genuine... until I heard about the things that other people had been through. Losing families, losing their homes, and their livelihoods. The war, or really, just the struggles of life, they have taken things from everybody."

"And I can't just solve that." her friend admitted, and Ty Lee pouted, knowing her friend couldn't lose her confidence now; she understood why she didn't want to reveal her thoughts to Sokka, at least not yet, because that would undermine his own confidence, which could unravel all their plans.

"You can help make things better. Nobody said you were solving everyone's problems."

"I might make things better for some, but this world... it doesn't seem to work well with kindness, or cooperation." she admitted, "Father was right about that... even if he was thinking about it the wrong way around."

"What, because people like him make it hard for others to be kind, or to cooperate? Because they're all afraid?"

"Do I really need to say?" she asked in return, and the acrobat stepped closer, offering her friend a hand.

"No, you don't." she assured with a warm smile, and Azula accepted her hand, glancing ahead into the woods, "Is there something you want to tell me? Like, really want to tell me?"

Her friend stood still for a moment, eyeing the trees, almost hawkishly, as if she was checking for potential prey, or predators, and then, her gaze turned back to Ty Lee, "I am torn between... myself."

"What do you want to do?"

"Be happy." she admitted something that was obvious, because Ty Lee was almost certain everyone had that same desire, "I just lack a grasp on what exactly is better for me... power, justice or love."

"A balance, maybe." she suggested, and the Princess chuckled.

"Oh, it's not that simple. I can't be all powerful, and a great ruler for my nation, without sacrificing justice for the other nations and my love, and likewise, I can't bring about justice without sacrificing my nation's prosperity and greatness, along with the pride I hold for my duty. I want to hold onto what I've built, with Sokka, and with his tribe, but... I don't know if I can stand to see everything fall apart while I sit in the icy tundra." she listed off the contrasting dilemmas she faced, and her friend scrunched her lips up, unsure what she ought to advise her to do.

"You're stuck." she simply observed what she could, and the Princess nodded; her expression hardened as she relit the flames in her palm, lighting up her face and the area around them a blue hue.

"So I need to make decisions, before the world makes those decisions for me."

Though Toph could see anyone coming from miles away if she had her feet planted on the ground, that didn't mean she could just avoid those people with ease. The group had landed in the woods outside of Shengchang, and the clear weather and midday sun supposedly made it hard to hide. She knew that seeing people struggled at night to make out anything other than basic shapes, which was similar to what she experienced standing on a loose surface, like sand. That meant that they were in perhaps the least favourable circumstances to travel into the city, let alone avoid the patrolling soldiers that were very obviously making their way around the outskirts, by the edge of the forest. There was no easy way for them to sneak past other than by abusing timing, or if she dared, tunnelling underneath the woods towards the closest bit of cover, which according to Sokka was a stream, which she could make out the shape of in the far distance.

She knew that tunnelling wasn't a good idea, and waiting might just leave them in a more precarious position. Their plain clothes probably wouldn't do much good as it was more likely now that whoever was guarding the city would be rightly afraid of spies entering the place. It didn't help that Aang had his tattoos, which would be noticeable on a quick inspection, and Azula herself was probably one of the most recognisable people in the world, as Ty Lee put it, after her face was plastered over every bulletin in every town in the Fire Nation occupied territories.

"There's no easy way to say this..." Sokka spoke up, breaking Toph from her chain of thought as she had been sending around the distance to check for any incoming patrols.

"What? That we need to run through blindly?" she quipped back at him, and that earned a light snicker from Azula and Aang, though the latter turned to face her, perhaps feeling a little unsure about going along with her blind joke, "We're not going to just hope they don't spot us. I can tell." she reminded them, and the group nodded along.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Katara asked, gesturing in the direction of the city.

"For the right time, and some good places to hide along the way." she admitted, knowing that without a good feel for the terrain, she couldn't make a judgement call on the best route towards the riverbed Azula wanted them to reach.

Sensing ahead, she noted a few odd indentations and cavities in the ground, which seemed too large to be completely natural, so she sensed into the ground itself, trying to make out any distinct materials in the soil, which would weigh differently from each other. She scrunched her lips as she made out what oddly enough felt like half of a traditional Earth Kingdom coin, except the size of a person, and made out of solid rock, like it was carved out of the face of a mountain. She sensed around the area, and noted more fragments of a similar weight, and they all seemed to correlate with the same shape, that being the round edges of the large coins; she didn't understand their exact purpose, but that told her that the land, which was now covered in woods, must have been used for something else in the past.

She sensed around the cavity she had noticed earlier, and realised it had to be the remains of some structure, probably a watchtower or something similar, given its small size; she knew that was the best place for them to hide, so, she gestured in the direction, and sensed to the left and right, making out where the closest soldiers would be. When she realised they were on the approach, she had nothing else to say other than a single word.

"Run." she told the others, before she dashed ahead, weaving around the trees that were in her path, and she could hear and sense the pittering of footsteps behind her as she rushed towards the hiding spot.

When she got close enough, she used her earthbending to push a fallen tree off of the cavity, allowing her to jump inside, and she was quickly followed by the others, who could all barely fit inside; she was forced to sit down and huddle for a moment as the others got in, before she dropped the log back down, sealing them inside, and keeping them hidden from the approaching soldiers.

"Oh, it stinks here." Sokka grumbled under his breath, "And I'm pretty sure this is some animal's den." he warned them, which didn't seem to faze the others.

"Well, a den can't be this big." Ty Lee argued, before she piqued her head up slightly, probably trying to look out the gap between the hole and the trunk.

"It's some kind of building." Azula observed what Toph had, "Probably some defensive structure if it's all the way out here... though it has to be a lot older than the war." she noted, seeming interested by what she had found, "Did you sense any other hiding spots?" she asked Toph, who raised a finger to hush her and the others, just pointing above them, sensing the soldiers as they strode towards them, though they weren't heading directly for their little hiding spot, they were getting within earshot.

She could sense the others' heartbeats increasing in pace as the footsteps became more audible, and she realised that out of all of them, it was Azula who seemed the most nervous. She was unsure why the strongest bender barring herself among them would be that concerned about a bunch of soldiers she could probably roll. After the soldiers walked on by with no issue, their chatter indiscernible in the distance, with the wind whipping through the woods, they all loosened up, relieved nobody noticed anything; that was, until one of them spoke up.

"Wait a second." she heard a voice clearly, "I see tracks." he warned his comrades, and the soldiers chatted for a moment, before she heard an order.

"Head that way and that way." he ordered his men, presumably gesturing along the length of the tracks, "Somebody might be trying to sneak past us. If we can't find them, we'll just send in a report. The Major will probably want to know somebody's breaking through the border."

"Shit." she heard Sokka murmur, "Can't we catch a break?" he whispered with frustration, and Katara hushed her brother, the group otherwise remaining silent as a pair of soldiers approached them, but walked past the pit, completely dodging it.

"I don't see anybody." she heard one of the soldiers observe, "Maybe it was some animals. I've seen some on patrol."

"It'd have to be a few of them." the other soldier noted, "Let's just head back to the others. I can't really tell which way the tracks are going." he decided, and the pair did just that, leaving the group be.

When they were far away enough, Toph raised her right hand, giving the others a thumbs up to assure them they were safe, and Azula clenched her fist, which burst into flames, something only noticeable from the heat that suddenly came off in her direction; she hammered her fist into the bricks beside her, "Damn it." she snarled, "Now they're going to know."

"But they have no idea what or who came in." Ty Lee assured her, "They can't know all our plans."

"No, they certainly don't, but if we're caught, they will figure them out quickly enough." the Princess warned her friend, before tapping Toph on the shoulder, "Why didn't you cover our tracks?"

"I wasn't thinking of it. I thought the plants would have covered them." she admitted the truth; she was careless, and now, it might have blown their cover, even if they could still enter the city without being directly spotted, "Sorry." she conceded, before raising her fist, creating a pillar between them all, which raised the fallen tree trunk once more, "Let's get to that river."

"Calling it a river is a bit of a stretch." Sokka corrected her, and Azula pushed him on the back, prodding him to climb out.

"Shut it and keep moving." she demanded, and he complied, the others following after him and climbing out of the pit, with Aang gracefully leaping up with his airbending while the others were forced to clamber up with their hands and feet, though Toph could easily jump up with the help of her earthbending, she decided not to, instead carefully climbing out, and pulling the log down after herself.

The group continued along in the direction they had already been going, and Toph paced ahead, making sure to take the lead and sense for any potential witnesses; she couldn't sense anyone in the way of their path, but she could sense people on the other side of the stream, which from what she could tell consisted of various farms, where people would be working at that very moment. As they made their way down the slope towards the riverbank, she could notice that the others were beginning to crouch, pulling their cloaks over their heads, and she did the same, unsure if anyone could actually see them at that distance. Her knowledge on that area was frustratingly lacking, and usually, she resolved the issue by going underground, but that wouldn't really help when they were trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Leaving a bunch of upturned soil and bushes a short distance from the city's edge would only pique more interest from the patrols, and force the garrison to tighten whatever restrictions they had in place in the city. They had probably dealt with earthbender saboteurs before, and if they recognised the move, they would immediately try and apprehend any local earthbenders, which wouldn't be helpful if those people were the kind she was hoping to receive the help of.

She doubted many Earth Kingdom people would like to help overthrow one Fire Nation ruler in exchange for another, she was sure they might be able to understand what Azula was actually intending to do. She had an aim to help all the nations, not just her own, because she had a surprising understanding of the issues they had all been facing, though whether she truly cared for their success was another question in its entirety. What Toph could be certain of, however, was that she needed the Earth Kingdom on side to achieve her desired peace, no matter if she wanted to continue the Fire Nation's domination over the other nations.

She didn't easily trust many people, but the Princess seemed genuine enough in her aims; she wouldn't have gone to all that effort to befriend Earth Kingdom freedom fighters if she wanted to simply defeat her father and become the Fire Lord. Becoming the Fire Lord wasn't really something that required the help of the Earth Kingdom, if she was willing to go all in, and face her father down. If her brother had gotten in power by defeating Ozai in an Agni Kai, there was no reason she couldn't do the same, unless she really was that focused on achieving power through the support of her country and the world.

As they made their way into the riverbed, Toph sensed up and down its length, unable to sense any people nearby, and thus, she felt comfortable increasing her pace as she headed downstream, in the direction of the city walls, which were the clearest thing she could sense in the distance. The others kept a steady pace behind her, with Ty Lee and Azula remaining closest, probably because they knew exactly where they had to go. The Princess didn't speak, and neither did anybody else; they were walking as softly as they could, along the dry part of the riverbed, but not wasting any time needlessly. When she sensed some cavity leading off from the riverbed, as they were starting to approach the more built up area of the outskirts, she was sure that was the place; she turned to face Azula, who just gave her a resolute nod, and Toph raised a hand up, sensing into the tunnel, which was clear of any critters or perhaps worse, other people. She gave the others a thumbs up, before she decided to let them go first, not exactly enthused to enter what she guessed would be a damp, smelly tunnel.

"Ah, how polite, making us step in the sewerage first." the Princess sarcastically observed her inaction, and Toph shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm gonna close this up when we leave, so nobody can follow us. Get in." she pointed to the tunnel, her ad hoc plan a good enough excuse, and quite reasonable at that; she'd done similar things when she opened up tunnels for the other fighters at New Omashu- with her abilities, it was her job to make sure nobody could pursue or sneak up on them.

The others filed into the tunnel, with Sokka crouching down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, and moved in slowly, obviously not wanting to slip; Toph took a deep breath before she stepped in after them, covering her feet with dirt to try and keep them away from the sewage. Despite her propensity for walking around bare-foot, she hated going near things like refuse and sewage; unlike the earth she loved to stick her toes in, what was now below her was a mixture of organic and man-made material that she didn't want to think too much about. She raised her hand up behind her, closing off the tunnel with a few bars of stone, which wouldn't be visible from outside the tunnel, but would certainly hold back anybody who decided to follow them.

She increased her pace at once, making sure that she was right behind Katara, the last of the group to enter, so she wouldn't just fall down flat on her face if she slipped. The Water Tribe girl turned back, momentarily glancing at her, though Toph was unsure if the tunnel was lit; her snicker suggested it was, and the earthbender scrunched her lips up.

"What's so funny, Sugar Queen?"

"Oh, that you finally decided to make shoes for yourself." she observed what she had done when she entered the tunnel.

"Well, do you want to step in shit?" she asked her rhetorically, certain somebody as tidy and proper as her would be just as disgusted as she was.

"No. It's bad enough with shoes already." she responded, and they received a hush from Ty Lee, who didn't seem to approve of their chatter.

"I love talking as much as the next person, but people might hear us through the manholes." she whispered as she gestured above them, and Toph sensed in that direction, noticing that at relatively equal intervals sat shafts above their heads, leading up to the level of the streets of Shengchang.

She decided to remain silent after that, following after the others as they slowly made their way up an incline; the distance was surprisingly far, but they were able to keep pace, and quickly enough Azula ground to a halt, before she turned around.

"Toph, your seismic sense isn't dulled down here, is it?" she asked her, perhaps rhetorically, and the earthbender placed her hands on her hips, slightly annoyed, wishing she'd just get to whatever request she had in mind.

"No, it isn't. What are you looking for?"

"A warehouse. It should be to our right, two stories tall and full of printing presses." she clarified, and Toph scrunched her lips up, sensing above them, trying to make out what was in the various buildings; she could sense people walking around, furnishings, walls and the various pipes leading into the sewer tunnel they were sneaking through.

Though it took her a few moments, sensing ahead through the various buildings, she was able to make it out, noting the various printing presses and people inside, "Found it." she confirmed, "We still need to walk ahead... because we're still under a major street." she clarified, snapping her finger and pointing above them, "I don't forget the feeling of ostrich-horse talons."

"Nice to know." Sokka sarcastically retorted, "Okay, so we keep going. Tell us when we- sorry, when you or Aang need to blast a hole to the surface." he requested, and she scoffed.

"Alright smarty-pants, I'll do just that." she assured him, and though her attitude didn't seem to sit well with Azula, Sokka seemed a little amused.

"Eheh... you're kind of funny." he conceded with a sheepish voice, before they all started walking again, making their way down the tunnel towards the warehouse; when they got close enough, and far into the alleyway, where they wouldn't be spotted, she clapped her hands.

"Stop." she demanded, "Twinkletoes. Blast a hole like you did when you were pretending to be a badger-mole." she asked her student, who nodded, before taking form.

"Uh... watch your heads." he warned the others, before thrusting his fist up, ripping the stone bricks and soil up and out of the way, creating an opening, before he leapt up and out of it, onto the street level, "Nobody's here." he assured them all, before Toph clenched her fist, creating some indentations for the rest of them to use to climb up.

"Thanks." she heard the Princess address either herself or Aang, and Toph then sensed her climb out of the tunnel with impressive agility.

Sokka soon followed, leaving the rest of them to follow in suit, climbing out of the shaft one by one; she could sense people in the distance, but given the alleyway above them seemed rather narrow and crooked, she doubted anyone could see them. Toph got out last by virtue of being at the end of the line, and as she climbed out, she was offered a hand by Katara, which she accepted, though she almost accidentally pulled the girl back into the hole with her grip.

"Ack!" she cried out, Ty Lee grasping her by the shoulder to make sure she kept a hold of her footing while Toph pulled herself out of the hole, "Couldn't you have put a bit more weight on the tunnel?" she asked, and the earthbender shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought you'd be stronger." she bluntly admitted, thinking that after all her waterbending training and the supposedly harsh lifestyle she faced at the South Pole that she would be at least strong enough to lift up somebody as short as herself.

The Water Tribe girl didn't seem to take her comment well, but Ty Lee patted her on the shoulder, probably wanting to intervene before she got into a tirade at Toph.

"I mean... that's kind of a compliment. She thinks you'd be strong." she acknowledged a positive of her assumption, but Katara didn't seem to buy it.

"No, she just thinks I'm a weakling." she retorted, "And I'm not... but I never trained myself like you did." she conceded Toph's strength, "How'd you do it, anyway?"

"Stubbornness." she admitted, "I really like to win."

"Who would have guessed?" Sokka quipped, butting into their conversation, "Now, can we all be quiet while Azula gets us into the warehouse." he requested, gesturing towards the Princess, who had been knocking on the door of a nearby building.

After a few moments, somebody approached the door on the other side, and opened a slot to look out, "What do you kids want?" he asked, and the Princess snapped a finger at him; that seemed to scare him immediately, and he stumbled back, before quickly unlocking the door for her, "Your highness... sorry, I didn't realise it was you."

"Well, I am in disguise this time. Last time, there were no good excuses." she crossed her arms, before stepping closer to the doorway, "Is Mister Takumi here?"

"Uh... not at the moment. We'll retrieve him if you want to meet with him." he assured her, "Just... uh, well, you probably want to speak with the council." he explained, making Toph snicker.

"Sorry, 'council'?" she asked, "You're saying there's a little group calling the shots around here."

"They were elected by the members of our organisation." he clarified, "And they are here to serve her majesty's will. She is the Fire Lord now, and this is her city." he argued, before gesturing inside, "Please, you and your entourage may come inside. I'm sure you don't want the guards finding you.

"That is another reason we're here." Sokka conceded, "How have things been going here, anyway?" he asked the man, whose heartbeat hastened upon hearing that.

"Uh... not well." he conceded, "The usurper's soldiers have taken control of the city, and the Governor bowed to his rule." he explained, which seemed to annoy the Princess.

"Well, that's frustrating." she acknowledged, before narrowing her eyes, "That wouldn't have happened to be General Gyoko's doing, would it?"

"Uh, yes, actually. He came in and had a whole military parade about a month ago... I heard you thrashed him in battle."

"Well, if we're going to be technical, I was the one who beat him." Ty Lee piped up, seeming proud of her achievement, which still interested Toph; she found the idea of dragging a man through the woods, and then almost getting oneself drowned just to make sure the prisoner didn't escape to be a sign of great resolve.

"Yes, we defeated him, with the help of Earth Kingdom rebels, who I might say, are willing to cooperate with me... thus, with our aims as a whole. If all goes to plan, the colonies shall be allowed to exist without encroachment from the Earth Kingdom, or whatever becomes of it once I'm done with the place." she explained her achievements rather briefly, and the man seemed to brighten upon hearing it.

"You have all our thanks, your majesty... although you probably ought to tell the council that yourself." he conceded, and she just paced ahead of him, the others following after her at once.

"I know where I'm going." she explained herself succinctly, before leading them out into an open area of the warehouse, which seemed to be unoccupied at that very moment, though she could sense a variety of machines around, probably used for producing goods for the organisation that owned the warehouse; she paced her way up a staircase, and Toph followed after, eager to get a read on these people that were supposed to be helping them.

When she reached the top of the staircase, which luckily was made out of brick, like the rest of the building, making it easy for her to use her siemsic sense, she noticed the few people who had been sitting at the table rose up, appearing surprised by her arrival, "The Blue Dragon returns." one of them, a young woman, declared rather poetically, which seemed to amuse everyone barring the Princess herself.

"I have." she confirmed, before she pulled out the headpiece that she had usually been wearing, putting it on her scalp, "And I come with the support of our former opponents, both recent and old." she acknowledged, gesturing towards Aang, who stepped forward, bowing to what members of the council sat before.

"Hello." he addressed them, "My name's Aang, and I'm the Avatar." he explained, which heightened the heartbeats of those sitting at the table; an older woman rose to her feet, shocked by what she had just heard.

"Sorry, the Avatar? Is it really true?" she asked, and Aang took off his bandana, proving his identity to all of those present.

"Yes I am." he confirmed, "And this is my kind of great-granddaughter." he gestured to Azula, making her face-palm, clearly embarrassed by that technically true, yet very unusual fact; after all, he was the reincarnation of Avatar Roku, her great-grandfather.

"Oh, you just had to make it weird, didn't you?" she asked him, clearly frustrated in her tone, before she turned back towards those at the table, "Yes, Avatar Roku is my great-grandfather." she clarified what he had just said so it wouldn't just sound as weird.

"Ah, that makes more sense." somebody on the table spoke up, before shaking his head, "I don't mean to intrude, your majesty, but what are you going to do now?"

"Learn about our present circumstances." she clarified, "I don't know exactly what's been happening in Shengchang, but my forces are on the approach as we speak. When I send out the signal, they'll move in to take over, but I'd prefer to have as much preparation as possible."

"Of course, failure... failure is something we cannot stand for." another person spoke up, an older woman, "We know what will happen to us if we lose a fight."

"And that is why we cannot move until I am certain of what I am facing. My father's forces are obviously occupying the city at the moment, but that does not speak to whatever reinforcements his generals could order to recapture Shengchang once my men arrive." she explained her intentions, and was surprisingly clear about her own uncertainties; she wasn't supremely confident in their abilities, and that spoke to her own rationality when it came to their fight.

She wasn't hot-headed or overzealous, she took every potential encounter with the serious attitude that Toph expected of an actual ruler; despite his outwardly zany attitude and seemingly non-seriousness, King Bumi shared the same value of patience and planning when it came to their own moves against the Fire Nation, and he was far older, and had a lot longer to learn how to lead than the Princess had.

"The Governor has bowed down to that General Gyoko fellow... though I hear you already dealt with him." one of those on the table noted, seeming amused by that fact, "Thoroughly." he added, just for emphasis, and the Princess huffed, seeming to agree with his sentiment.

"That we did... and now, the rest of his men here will learn what their comrades did." she cryptically referred to their future defeat, striding alongside the breadth of the table, deciding to sit herself down at the head, "How many soldiers are here? A rough estimate will do."

"At least half a thousand." another spoke up, this time a younger girl, clear from her voice and what Toph could sense about her build and height.

"And the city guard?"

"About two hundred, at least those walking around armed. They won't be much good against the soldiers... if you were thinking of getting them onboard." the girl explained, and Azula chuckled.

"Well, what do you all think of that?" she turned her attention back to the group that had followed her in.

"It's easier than putting our own necks on the line if it makes a good distraction." Toph acknowledged, before tapping Sokka on the side, "You're good at plans, supposedly. What have you got for this?"

"There's no easy way to fight half a thousand soldiers, especially given they'll have better equipment than ours... not to mention this city has walls." he added, "I mean, it's no Ba Sing Se, but other than by sending in the airship, it won't be easy to get soldiers into the city centre."

"Well... we don't need to use the airship to do that." Toph spoke up, recalling what she had been able to sense in the sewers, "The sewers go all the way under the walls, from what I can sense, and plus, aren't Jianren's fighters coming. They can tear down the walls."

"Not without getting barraged by every weapon the defenders can throw at them. Remember, this is the Fire Nation Army. They're trained primarily to deal with earthbenders, of all people." Azula warned her, before gesturing back towards the others, "Any other ideas?"

"Drawing them out." Katara spoke up, "I mean, that's what we did with the Southern Raiders, and the distraction seemed to work, from what Dad told me." she explained, before snapping a finger, "So, how much harder could it be to get a bunch of nervous soldiers to jump at the first sound of an attack?"

"Not too hard." the Princess conceded, "They already know we must be coming, and obviously, they're making preparations... that's something we can take advantage of." she conceded, "Making them believe our forces have come to attack early will force them to move soldiers to wherever they think we are." she acknowledged, before narrowing her eyes, "The problem with that plan is that there is little way for us to make a distraction without the danger of actually revealing ourselves and my army's movements."

"So then what... we just sit here with our hands under our butts and wait for the army to rock up? No distraction, just go all out?" Sokka asked, suggesting the complete opposite was what Azula wanted, though Toph could sense from her heightened heartbeat that wasn't the case.

"Of course not. We have to do something to throw them off, we just can't do anything too drastic."

"What, like overthrowing the Governor?" Ty Lee asked, "That, uh, didn't work out too well last time."

"Oh, but we're in very different circumstances now. Nobody's going to rock up and threaten our plans now... other than an extra army, but that's something I already am preparing for." Azula clarified, though Toph noted everyone's heartbeats hastening at that, obviously indicating some doubt, or concern on the matter.

"How exactly?" one of the others on the table asked her, "What do you plan to do?"

"As soon as my soldiers are here, and secure the city, we will be mining the outskirts with explosives and traps, so that we will be ready to destroy and repel any attacking forces, and that assumes the worst case scenario in which our airship is neutralised." she explained, "I have already taken the same precautions at my base of operations, in the case we are forced to defend it. That is why I seek to enlist as many people here as possible to help us prepare fortifications when the time comes."

"It is our duty to help our Fire Lord... but I am unsure what good labourers and factory-workers will be for building military-grade infrastructure." an older man warned her, seeming doubtful of their ability to meaningfully contribute.

"Can I say something about that, your majesty?" Toph jokingly requested, knowing full well Azula would want her to speak. at least if she had something to say in her favour.

She seemed slightly miffed as she tensed up, but she nodded, and gestured to the table, "Go ahead."

"In New Omashu, every person living there knows the danger that the Fire Nation poses to its existence, and they are expected to be prepared to defend it in the case that the city's location was compromised." she explained, knowing that the people of Shengchang might soon enough find themselves in similar circumstances, "They were all trained by the King's soldiers, including myself, and all the earthbenders in the city were informed of the various hidden tunnels we constructed to evacuate the city, if the worst came to bear. Soon enough, this city might be facing similar circumstances; I don't expect Ozai to want to burn this place to the ground, but I don't imagine he's well known for his sympathy with the common people- everyone in the path of that army, if it comes, will be in danger."

"We know that." the girl sitting next to Azula spoke up, "We're ready. We've been training... as much as we can."

"Do you have weapons, Kibo?" the Princess asked, and the girl nodded.

"Yes. Mister Takumi has been generous enough to offer us retrofitted industrial explosives and tools." she clarified, "There aren't as many as us as I wished there were, but we are ready to assist you in any way we can, Fire Lord Azula." she assured her, and the Princess rose back up to her feet.

"Good." she smiled, "We're overthrowing the Governor... before my men even get here." she stated her intentions, earning a scoff from Katara.

"Sorry... we're doing that?"

"This is little different to dealing with Zhao, only we have the element of surprise this time, and the world isn't in the balance... so far easier." she argued, before she gestured to her friends, "How long ago did we land?"

"Uh... less than an hour ago." Ty Lee clarified, "Why does that matter?"

"We've been on the ground for an hour, and Appa was in the air, within eyeshot of this city, before that. For all we know, the garrison could have already spotted him, and might be planning to apprehend us as we speak." she warned them of a possibility that Toph had already thought of, and now, seemed more reasonable than before; it didn't make much sense for the soldiers to just stop searching after a brief look in the forest, unless they were ordered to allow them in if they couldn't be caught.

"It was weird they didn't search harder in the woods." Toph conceded, and she got an affirmative nod from Sokka.

"Exactly. I thought we were screwed there... maybe they wanted us to get in here. It's a lot easier for us to be found if they only have to look within the city itself."

"They won't get far without an idea of where we are." Azula acknowledged, before turning to face Kibo, "Have soldiers come to check these premises since Ozai's takeover?"

"No... there've been inspections by the tax office, but that's just so they know how much to charge us. They didn't suspect a thing."

"That's what you think." somebody else on the table spoke up, "They could have just been playing nice."

"And we've been printing warrants for the Princess' arrest for the Governor." she retorted, "That's how we get any money from him and the government."

"Ironic." Sokka noted with a smug tone, "So you've been playing them for fools. It wasn't you guys who forgot my name, was it?"

"Uh... no, we just print what they ask us to." one of the people spoke up, seeming a little amused, "We didn't mean to offend you... uh, do you have a rank, sir?"

"Hmm... lemme go with General." he decided for himself, earning laughs from everyone else in the group, except Azula, who must have just been annoyed that he dared to suggest that.

"You're not a General." she retorted, before clearing her throat, "He's my aide-de-camp."

"That doesn't sound as cool." he grumbled, before sighing, "Anyway, the point is, good job for scraping the Governor for money, but we've got to overthrow that guy... well, because we're not fans of General Gyoko and his cronies, and I'm sure most people in Shengchang aren't either."

"No, they're not." one of the supporters spoke up, "There was a protest just two days ago. The soldiers... didn't react kindly, but that works in our favour. They'll be more than pleased to see a return to order and stability, not just a mirage of it."

"There can't be much order when the city is surrounded by those who are against Ozai." the Princess agreed with his point, "Soon enough, no matter if I arrived here or not, the city would have fallen from my father's control... my brother's little expeditionary force would have made sure of that."

"And they're not much better." Kibo warned her, "They've been deposing mayors and other public officials left and right as soon as they speak out against any of Fire Lord Zuko's policies."

"Though I am neither a supporter of insubordination, there is a far more straightforward way to deal with such tensions."

"Talking it out, right?" Aang spoke up, clearly hoping she was on his side with that point; she glanced his way for a moment, and silence fell over the table, before she nodded.

"Yes, that's right. Dialogue can solve problems. I learned that a while ago... but it doesn't solve them all."

"A really big protest would solve our present problem, wouldn't it?" Sokka suggested to his girlfriend, who just huffed, amused by the idea; Toph didn't think it was half bad, though it wasn't a unique idea, given it was already being considered by the others at the table.

"Yes it would, at least part of it. Distracting the soldiers is our primary objective, and dealing with the Governor is only made easier if they're dealing with a lot of problems at once. Mass arson or terror would have the same effect, but I don't seek to inspire fear into the hearts of citizens."

"Well, you're definitely trying to scare somebody." Katara mumbled, and the Princess shook her head.

"Wrong. My father will not know fear by my hand. There's only one thing he fears... and that's lack of control. Over fate, over his country, over his decisions." she argued, hammering a fist into the table, "When Ozai can no longer see himself as the ruler of the world, but just a small, lonely man, then I shall have my victory." she declared, her words causing the others to rise to their feet.

"What do you ask of us, Fire Lord Azula?"

"That you do not falter. Believe in yourselves, your community, that there is something more to our nation, to this world, than this accursed war. Violence is not an end in and of itself... it is only helping us achieve what we should all desire."

"Peace." Katara spoke of what she was referring to, "And what about this Governor? What violence did you have in mind this time?"

"Well, we simply need to hold him hostage... the very idea of the Avatar threatening his life will be good enough to get him to stand down and force his men, if they don't side with us, to fall in line." she argued, earning a few nods from the others on the table, though those of them that actually knew Aang didn't seem all too enthused.

"But... I'm not-" Aang began, before he was cut off by Azula.

"You don't need to kill anyone." she reassured him, "But scare whoever's meant to be running this province into begging for mercy, I need you to do that."

"Hey, it's not that hard." Toph argued, "Just pretend to be her... or Sokka. Really, just pretend to hate his guts, and want to beat him up." she suggested, and the aforementioned individuals turned to face her, seeming confused.

"I don't hate some random guy just for being a governor." the Water Tribesman retorted, "I do want to get rid of any obstacles in our path, though." he added, clearly suggesting he was willing to use as much force as necessary to overthrow the Governor and secure Shengchang from Ozai's grasp.

"The point is... we need to scout out the situation first." the Princess reminded them, before turning to face the others at the table, "So, could you provide us with some directions, and perhaps... some better disguises." she asked, and they all nodded along.

"We can definitely do that." Kibo assured her, "Come on everybody." she addressed the table, rising to her feet, "We have a whole day ahead of us... this can all be done quickly."

"Well, as quickly as they can avoid the checkpoints." another person warned her, turning to face the group, "We haven't got any fake passports or anything of the sort... so you'll need to take another way through the city walls."

"Oh, don't worry." Toph pursed her lips, confident she could get it done, "We can solve that problem easily."

"Yeah, Toph's earthbending solves the issue of getting around." Sokka noted the advantage her bending gave them, "We'll be able to get to the city hall... or whatever place we need to reach, no problem." he argued, before he turned to face those they were seated with, "But we don't know what exactly we're looking for. Records, maybe. Any information that will help us take control of the city."

"The Governor's schedule and whoever he consorts with will be good enough." Azula gave her own opinion, before rising to her feet, "We should begin as soon as possible. Is there room here for us to get changed?"

"There is." an older woman spoke up, "I'll go collect some clothes for you all. I'll just need some measurements." she clarified, and the Princess nodded.

"Well, go ahead. We are running on a schedule here... and I need to inform my subordinates exactly what we'll be dealing with by tomorrow. The success of this operation, and any future operations, rest on the gathering of intelligence."

"We know our way around, your majesty." Kibo assured her, before snapping her fingers, "We have to use every strength we have if we want to win." she declared, gesturing for the others to get up, which they did.

"Revealing all of your pieces before you make your move isn't wise." Azula warned, "What does the enemy know of this organisation?"

"That we exist, and that we lack the funding or arms to actually pose a violent threat." one of the members noted, "Although, what they don't know is that we have you leading the charge, your majesty."

"There's more to a battle than who leads it. I believe the military greatly underestimates the ability of untrained commoners in a fight. Battles and wars are won on morale, not on body counts." she declared a maxim that Toph certainly agreed with; the earthbender offered the Princess a hand, and smirked as she thought of what could happen if the people could really be roused to throw off Ozai's cronies, without the need for an army or a big airship.

"Then, let's make the Governor and his little men afraid of what we can do."

---

Azula hadn't even taken to appreciate the application of earthbending for sabotage and stealth, though no earthbender was like Toph. Her impressive ability to tap into the earth around her to effectively see even better than a sighted person would was a tool that could be used in a wide variety of scenarios, and sneaking under the walls of Shengchang was one of them. They had elected to take the sewers once more, to avoid digging around in places that mightn't be safe; having the weight of a massive stone wall fall on them was something nobody wanted to take a chance with. With her firebending, and some rags to cover their mouths and noses, she found it rather comfortable to stride through the damp tunnel, listening out above them for carts rolling and footsteps pattering.

The walls were already behind them, and now all they needed to do was reach a safe location to surface; it was a given that they would walk to the city hall without the need to continue snaking their way through the sewers. That was where the locals would come in handy, with their knowledge of the city's streets, and Kibo strode right behind Toph, asking her about what she could sense. Though it was a bit annoying to listen to, Azula wouldn't complain, given the care they were taking to avoid being spotted, and have the city guard have any idea of their presence; opening the sewers in the middle of a crowded street was a terribly easy way to force the Princess to accelerate her plans to the point of no return.

"Do you sense a garden? Anything closed off like that?" Kibo questioned the earthbender once more, who scoffed at her question.

"Every block has a garden. I'm assuming it's a Fire Nation thing." she noted, and Azula narrowed her eyes.

"They are common... we're looking for something unoccupied, so we can climb out without being spotted." she reminded her, and the stout earthbender cracked her knuckles, stopping for a moment, presumably to gain her bearings, before she pointed ahead.

"Okay, I found something. It's a bit of open land by a stream... the tunnel leads out to the stream." she clarified, and Sokka cleared his throat.

"Well, we're not here to go swimming." he warned her, and she let out a loud, mocking laugh.

"Oh that's funny. I can make a hole in the tunnel, you know that right?" she questioned the Water Tribesman, who just crossed his arms.

"Whatever, just take us there." he demanded, and Kibo tapped her on the shoulder.

"He has a point. We have to keep moving... and getting mud all over us won't look good in front of the guards."

"Don't worry, with airbending and waterbending, I can clean everyone's clothes." Aang spoke up, earning a thumbs up from Sokka, but the Princess didn't care for their chatter, just wanting them to keep moving; she grabbed her boyfriend by his wrist, and got him moving once again.

They continued down the tunnel, taking a right turn down a sloped tunnel, at the end of which she noted stagnant water, obviously collecting at the exit. It was rather obvious they couldn't go that way, and Toph stopped after a while, turning her head back and forth as she seemed to be sensing around. She then spun around, punching her fist into the wall beside her, causing the bricks to fall out of place, before she continued to move into what looked like a simple earthbending form, grasping the soil beside her, before she pushed it back, Azula tilting her head so she could get a better look of what she was doing.

She furrowed a brow, watching Toph rip the soil apart and push it back, creating a shaft for them to climb up; it only took her a few moments to break to the surface, causing light to shine down into the sewer. The Princess clenched her palm shut, getting rid of her torch, before she watched Toph and Kibo climb outside, though she was unsure whether she ought to follow just yet; the latter turned around, and gestured for them all to follow.

"It's clear." she assured the group, and Azula sighed, pulling her cloak a little tighter over her head before she climbed out, raising a hand up to block out the bright glare of the midday sun.

Glancing around, she took note of the garden, which as expected, sat next to the stream that ran through the centre of the city; all around her, she could see the large tenements and factories that filled the centre of the city, though she was uncertain where the city hall was. She turned back, watching the others climb out of the hole, and Sokka stepped past her, gesturing towards the buildings ahead of them.

"Let's get to the road. Get a feel for our surroundings." he suggested quietly, and she followed right after him, filing into a narrow alleyway between two buildings; the darkness of the alley contrasted with the well-lit street ahead of them, where she could dozens of pedestrians walking about, along with carts being dragged down the street by ostrich horses.

Shengchang was a busy place, which made it easier for them to blend in; just act like they were on their way to business, and the guards wouldn't bat an eye. She crossed her arms, leaning back onto a nearby wall, Sokka doing the same, pulling out a piece of jerky from his bag; he took a bite, before offering her some, and she rolled her eyes, certain that he was just being polite.

"I know you want to eat all of it." she retorted, making her boyfriend snicker.

"Yeah, I do." he confirmed her suspicions, before he gestured down the street, indicating towards a group of soldiers; they seemed otherwise like ordinary firebending troops, except for the fact their armour was in surprisingly poor condition, and they all lacked the ordinary skull face plates- veterans, presumably those of the guerrilla conflict in the colonies, and given their location, on the side of her father.

"They look a bit odd." Sokka admitted, "Any idea who they might be?"

"I am unsure exactly who they are... but their appearance tells me enough. My father's forces, even random guerrillas who might have been trying to sabotage my brother's rule, are pooling here in the city, because they must be aware of our intentions. Even if they haven't intercepted our coded communications, they could still deduce it... Shengchang is the closest city to the base, other than Gaochao, but that isn't under Fire Nation occupation." she explained, before narrowing her eyes, "Whatever their own plans, we have to learn as much as we can before the army arrives."

"I know that." he reassured her, "Let's just figure out where we're going first."

"Up this street." she heard Kibo speak up, Azula turning around to eye her as she gestured down the street, "We're about two minutes away, don't worry." she stressed, and the Princess raised a brow, unsure whether she ought to be so calm; the military build-up in response to the results of her battle with Gyoko was expected, and it certainly had the potential to complicate matters, even before they were able to get inside the city hall.

"And you're not worried about getting arrested?" she asked the girl who was leading them around a city packed full of soldiers and guards.

"We have you, your highness. We're in safe hands." she retorted, giving a response that she couldn't really argue against.

So, she didn't respond, simply nodding before she gestured for the others to follow them; she then took off down the street, keeping a steady pace behind Kibo. Just as she had said, it was only a turn down the street for her to make sight of their destination, a large, well-made building, with an open square in front of it. The square itself had what looked like the remains of a statue standing in it, but only the plaque and the feet of the statue remained, with the rest being destroyed at some point.

Approaching the building, she noticed that the main entrance had a checkpoint, with a few guards standing duty, checking people's documentation before they'd be let inside. Given the building probably housed much of the province's bureaucrats, along with any meetings the Governor would be having with local people, it didn't surprise her that they'd have such a system in place, and it made it a little easier for her to choose their path inside. They would have to get in through a rear entrance, or via earthbending, though she knew with the heavy presence of guards, it wouldn't be easy to get in unnoticed.

"What's with the not-statue-statue?" Sokka asked Kibo, who scrunched her lips.

"Well, when I first arrived here there was no statue, but... they say it was one of Fire Lord Ozai." she clarified, specifically whispering Azula's father's name.

The Princess eyed what remained of the statue, realising what that implied; the common people really didn't seem to hold a great hatred towards her father, it was more so his policies threatening any semblance of peace that got them up in arms.

"Seems my brother is an iconoclast." she joked, knowing the other two wouldn't understand, and she didn't care for them to do so; Zuko wiping out any public imagery of their father didn't really mean much if he wasn't alive.

"A what?" Sokka mumbled, "Do you know what that means?" he asked Kibo, who shook her head.

"He likes destroying icons... you know, like statues." Toph spoke up, getting their attention; Azula hadn't realised she'd been so close behind, and stepped ahead of them, probably sensing out the building, "Well, this has to be it... and it's packed."

"Hopefully with as much intelligence as it has guards." the Water Tribesman whispered, before tilting his head, "Found any entrances?"

"Nothing unguarded." she conceded, "Maybe there's a meeting going on. Any of them look like soldiers to you?" she asked Azula, who nodded.

"Some. There's no officers standing out here... so they must be inside." she concluded, before snapping a finger, "We need to find an entry point. Toph, if you have to make one, do it." she ordered her, and the earthbender crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed.

"And what says I wasn't already going to do that?" she questioned her back, making the Princess sigh.

"I want everyone on the same page... not that you'd understand that idiom, being blind." she conceded, trying to hold back a smile as she realised how amusing that was; she didn't seem to take that too kindly, and clenched her fists.

"I get how books work, smart-arse." she snarled, and before she could do anything, Katara grasped her by the arm.

"Heh, heh, how about we don't cause a scene when we're trying to not be noticed?" she asked her quietly, clearly nervous about what might have happened if she hadn't stopped her.

Toph pulled her arm free and strode off, pacing towards a nearby alleyway, away from the city hall; Sokka glanced back between the building and the earthbender, seeming uncertain what she was doing, "Don't tell me you're going back to the sewer." he pleaded in a whisper, and Azula caught the smirk on her face, even if she didn't respond, "Urgh... my life is full of shit." he grumbled, before scrunching his lips up.

"Literally." Azula said what she knew he would before he could even open his mouth, making Sokka pout.

"C'mon, let me have my jokes." he requested, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Not my concern." she dismissed his words, before gesturing down the street, "Let's check the perimeter... in case we need to make a hasty escape." she explained her intentions to the others, who nodded along cautiously.

Though her rag-tag group had been through enough escapes, she was unsure if the allies she had in Shengchang were up for the challenge- they seemed to be more so political agitators than actual fighters. Despite that uncertainty, she continued down the street, knowing that they had to try; if she couldn't gather intelligence, then it would have been better to just march right in with her army to begin with. The Princess eyed ahead, noting that Toph was slowly walking her way down the street, clearly trying to sense a path into the city hall; she stopped for a moment, before she stepped to the right, clearly down some kind of alleyway. Azula and the others followed along, turning at the corner, though she cautiously glanced back and around to make sure guards weren't following them, or at the very least, paying much attention to them.

She could see that the alleyway led to a dead end, but she quickly realised why Toph had chosen it; past the building ahead of them sat the city-hall, and the roof was high enough that they would probably be able to climb over and jump through a window. She scrunched her lips up, realising that might be a challenge for those among them that couldn't fly, and eyed Aang, deciding that she ought to ask him.

"Can you jump onto a windowsill, balance and open the window up all at the same time?" she asked him, and the Avatar's expression brightened.

"Ooh... that sounds fun." he admitted, before shaking his head, "I mean, yes, I can do that." he corrected himself, trying to act more serious, but nobody was fooled; he was still a twelve year old after all, even if he was born over a century prior.

"That wasn't my idea." Toph clarified, before gesturing behind herself, "Somebody keep watch while I do my magic."

"Can't you just sense if somebody's coming?" Katara asked her, and the stout earthbender snickered.

"Well, yeah, but I can't do all the work." she argued, and some of the locals who'd tagged along stepped back out onto the street, pretending to be conversing among themselves while they were actually looking up and down the road, ensuring they wouldn't get any surprises, "Also... somebody's going to need to make sure the guards don't just walk into our path out of here." Toph added, Azula glancing back to realise she'd just opened up a hole in the ground.

"Back underground, really?" Sokka asked her, and she crossed her arms.

"It's where I can best sense everyone and anything. Plus... I figured out they have a basement, so we can dig right into it."

"Uh, and rip a huge hole in the wall?" Ty Lee asked, raising a hand in the process, as if she were still at school, "I get you're a master earthbender and all, but that'd be a little messy. Wouldn't they notice?"

"I can fix it." she assured her, "That's if we don't have to run out of there the other way."

"We don't want a repeat of Crescent Island." Sokka spoke up, clearly thinking about when Azula had gotten hurt in the process of defending them from artillery fire, "We're going to avoid that... no matter how easy it might be to beat some random guards up." he warned them, and the group nodded along, barring the Princess herself.

"I never intended for that to happen." she assured him, "Now follow me and shut up. We don't want them hearing us when we get inside."

"Can you break a wall quietly?" Ty Lee whispered rather obnoxiously to Toph, who raised a finger to her chin, as if she were pondering the possibility.

"To be fair I'm usually not breaking walls on stealth missions."

"But you know how to sneak around, right?" Aang asked her, clearly hoping she would give a positive answer.

"Hide from the estate guards is more like it." she mumbled, before stepping into the pit after Azula, who let her step past and take the lead, "Just cover your eyes, unless you want dirt in them. I learnt that one from experience."

"No problem Sifu, I've got a hang of your seismic sense technique." the young Air Nomad heartily assured her, and Azula shot him a glare.

"She wasn't talking to you, great Avatar." she mockingly addressed him, "Who else is coming?" she asked out, and Ty Lee and Katara stepped in, though it became apparent the hole wasn't big enough for all of them.

Toph solved that problem by ripping up more soil as she dug down, creating a tunnel that began to lead them under the building; though she was made uneasy by the creaking noises that she could hear, as well as rumblings after each bit of soil was ripped out, she still followed, trusting that Toph could protect them in the worst case scenario. They were soon followed by Kibo and two others from her group, walking down in single file, forced to crouch due to the tunnel's small size, far better suited for Toph and Aang rather than the older ones among them.

She could hear the sound of footsteps above them as the tunnel led them under the street, taking them towards the edge of the city hall itself; though it seemed a little unsafe, she could see Toph reinforcing the tunnel every time she dug along, whacking the sides, bottom and roof as she set it into place. She stopped and pursed her lips as she readied herself into an earthbending form, thrusting her open palm forward, causing the soil ahead of them to break apart, revealing the brick wall of the basement in front of them.

With a simple raise of her hand, the bricks peeled away, moving into the tunnel to give them an opening, without breaking a single one. The basement was very dark, and Azula shot a small fireball into the room, lighting it up; it revealed a number of shelves, filled with bags and crates of goods, though what purpose they served sitting under the city hall, she couldn't be certain of. They stepped out of the tunnel, dusting themselves off and glancing around, the Princess unsure exactly where they ought to go first.

"Where would the records be kept?" she asked Kibo, who was just climbing out of the tunnel.

"Not here. This is just some storage area... probably for contraband, seized goods, and extra supplies... in case of a siege." she noted, her last comment making her smile, as she connected it with Azula's own intentions.

"Well... I won't just destroy it all, even if that annoys the Governor." she conceded, "We ought to gauge the situation a little better. So, where are the records?"

"The Governor probably keeps his private documents in his office, but the general bureaucratic stuff will be in a room. Don't you have something like that at the palace?"

"Well, we don't keep our records there. The Royal Family has the Dragonbone Catacombs, and all the ministries have their own record offices." she clarified, "I know each provincial government has its own records department, so we'll take a peek, and make sure we're on the same page as the Governor and his allies."

"Well, it's your job as Fire Lord to be in the know." Sokka joked, before he strode further into the basement, "Let's just hope they're just forthcoming."

"We're not going to beat information out of anybody. That goes against the point of this operation." she warned him, knowing that sometimes he could get a little too eagerly into fights, certain that their opponents would want them dead, or at least in chains.

"Even I don't want to ruin her majesty's mood." Toph spoke up, the Princess raising a brow.

"Nobody asked for your opinion." she reminded her, just wanting to make sure she didn't want anyone else intervening in her conversation; whatever stupid ideas Sokka had, they were between him and her, and for nobody else.

"And I don't need permission." she retorted, "I don't want to watch him lose his shit again, as funny as that was."

"You weren't watching him beat up Jet." Aang chimed in, and the earthbender just smirked.

"Oh, I could sense that half way across the camp. You put on quite the show, boomerang-boy." she commended Sokka in an almost condescending manner, which didn't seem to go well with him.

"How about we don't talk about stupid stuff and actually... you know, go and get what we came for." he suggested to the group, who cautiously nodded back, though Toph seemed a little displeased by him asking her to be quiet; that amused Azula, even if only for a second, before she sharpened up, glancing towards the door that led out of the room they found themselves in.

She strode over to the door, leaning up against it so she could push it ajar and glance out, checking the dark hallway for any guards; there were no torches, and she pursed her lips, before gesturing behind her for the others to follow. She kept her pace slow, but kept an eager eye out towards the staircase, where she could see light emanating from; she got rid of her flames, knowing they would only serve to alert any guards that came their way, and slowly made her way up the stairs.

Sokka stepped ahead of her, drawing out his boomerang, not ready to give an inch; if somebody was in their way, they'd be knocked out cold, and hopefully without figuring out their purposes for being there. The stairwell, however, was clear, allowing them to climb up to the door that led into the hall proper; she waited for the others to climb the staircase, and listened out for voices inside. She could hear the muffled sound of people talking heatedly, and that interested her, but what was more of a concern was whether anyone was nearby. She could hear footsteps above them, in the first floor, but that didn't tell her much; she had to find the next staircase, and if possible locate the records room.

"Where next?" she heard Aang whisper, and the Princess pushed the door ajar; she eyed out, and noted that the hallway was clear, giving them a chance to move out and try and find the records room.

"We split up, look for the records room. Meet back here at the stairwell, unless somebody gets found... then we go for the Governor, and hope we can make something productive of a failure." she gave her plan as succinctly as she could, making the Air Nomad boy cringe, obviously realising what she intended to do.

"You're just going to... kill him?" he asked, and Sokka turned to face her, seeming to assume that was her intended course of action.

"Oh, not just him. Any of Gyoko's officers that are here as well. Might spare one or two to interrogate for information on troop movements, but that's it." she made her intentions clear, before pushing the door open, "That's your motivation to not get caught." she warned him, before stepping out, "Everyone else get that?" she asked, and they nodded along before following her out into the hallway.

"Yeah, don't get caught and go on a killing spree if we get caught. Great advice." Katara sarcastically assured and complimented her, the Princess almost more impressed than annoyed that she had the guts to retort like that.

"Wow, didn't know you had the guts for anything that brutal, Sugar Queen." Toph jokingly commended her, though she was quickly hushed by the others, who knew the danger of speaking too loud now they were potentially a corner away from other people.

The Princess ignored the others, knowing that she ought to not waste another moment, and made her way down the hallway, slowly approaching where she had heard arguing earlier; she quickly realised they were in one of the meeting rooms, or perhaps an office, located just down the hallway, and while the others were checking each door for the records room, Azula approached said room, catching the end of what sounded like a rant.

"Do you think they'll just stop with Yi Province, Governor?" she heard the voice of a clearly agitated man, "I served with these men, sir, and they aren't fools. They won't just attack Shengchang, or any colonial city without a way to stop us from having a chance to react. Their entire strategy is built on hit and run tactics. You heard what the survivors of that battle said... they were already waiting for them. It wasn't a chance encounter, or a pitched battle."

Azulla pursed her lips, approving of the commentary, given its accuracy, though that was slightly annoying; the soldiers occupying the city would know her strategies already, and even if they had no idea how she sought to conquer the city itself.

"And what does that tell me? Lieutenant-General Kure already assured me that Shengchang's walls will hold against the enemy's explosives and earthbenders. We have enough artillery to flatten an army, even if it surprises us."

"Oh, you underestimate her, Governor." the soldier, who must have been relatively high ranked if he was speaking to the Governor in such a way, "She could have had her men attack her brother in his sleep in Yu Dao, and it wouldn't have cost her a single soldier. For all we know, she already has agents in this very city... waiting to attack us at the most opportune time."

"Captain, I know your fears are based on experience, but this is not the time to argue with me. The Lieutenant-General has decided that we will keep the patrols up, and remain on the ready. His word is final."

"Aren't you the Governor?" the soldier retorted, "Have you lost your pride?"

"I am aware of our circumstances. If there was another choice, I would have taken it. You would be best to respect your superiors, as I have."

"I am loyal to my nation, not to you, or that bastard Kure. We're not here to demand more taxes out of the colonists or imprison them in this city like it's the Boiling Rock. You have a duty to your citizens, Governor."

"That's enough!" the Governor spoke up, his voice rising to a shout, "I don't take orders from my lessers." he snarled, and the other man just scoffed.

"It's not an order. It's advice, and I'll hope you take it, before you find yourself going the same way as Gyoko."

"Get out of my office! All of you, before I change my mind and have you thrown in prison." he demanded of the soldier and whoever else was in the room with him.

"Yes, sir." the Captain begrudgingly accepted his command, and Azula turned around, gesturing to the others, telling them to hide, and they quickly made their way through the nearest doors, and she did the same, hiding behind a door leading into a small office, and kept it ajar, so she could get a look of whoever had just made an argument with the Governor.

When they stepped out, she immediately recognised them as the oddly dressed soldiers, and it clicked in her head; they weren't just any random soldiers, but men who had served in her own army, but had defected back to the side of Ozai after he was revealed to be alive. Obviously, they had been fighting in the wilds against Zuko's forces, but now, they were left in a limbo with Shengchang as the only safe place while most of the other colonies were firmly under the control of Zuko loyalists, and the city was under the control of what remained of Gyoko's forces.

She pursed her lips, and realised that they might be potentially a great asset for her own plans; the Captain, whoever he was, seemed to be a principled, patriotic man, and it would only take one good argument to sway him to her side, if she could manage to find him. The side of 'the powerful', as her father might call it, wasn't the wisest choice if one valued the safety and security of the Fire Nation, especially considering what had been going on in the colonies recently.

Azula waited until the group of soldiers had made their way down the hallway, back towards the foyer of the building, before she stepped back out from the office she'd found herself in; she didn't bother to address the others, and she strode further down the hallway, around the corner which led her towards what she'd been hoping to find- the next staircase. She eyed up the stairs, and listened out carefully, unsure if anyone would come down; she could hear footsteps in the distance, but she was unsure if that was just the others who were checking the rooms behind her.

"Don't tell me you're scared." she heard somebody whisper, and she raised a fist up, ready to shoot a fireball point blank into their face, but she restrained herself when she realised it was Sokka.

"Oh great, you're still following me." she rolled her eyes, before she began to climb the stairs, keeping her pace slow to avoid making any sudden noises.

As she approached the top, she noticed some distinctive voices nearby, which indicated there were indeed people around on the first floor; that didn't concern her, as she knew best to avoid where she heard the voices coming from. Sokka kept following her, which wasn't a surprise, but she raised a hand to her right, gesturing down the hallway they'd found themselves at; he got the message, and began pacing down it, offering her a thumbs up before he went on his way.

She turned her attention back down the other way, knowing she had to come across something important sooner or later; she kept her pace slow, and checked as she reached another corner for any people; nobody was idling in the hallway, though she still heard the same voices as before; she assumed it was some other meeting, but she couldn't be certain. As she reached new doors, one by one, she would lean over to check for sounds of muttering, breathing or actual talking, before she pushed the door ajar, checking inside for people, before she stepped in.

To her luck, the rooms were all unoccupied at that very moment, barring one which she noticed was locked. If it was the records room, she would have to find another way in; the other rooms were very helpful, just being the offices of the public servants who worked at the hall, divided into the various departments of taxation, infrastructure, education, and colonisation, which itself wasn't a surprise. She knew that the government in Shengchang would have their hands full, but she didn't care for who they were taxing, or where they were sending settlers; it was simply what her father's men were doing that was her concern, and she would find out their plans, one way or another.

When she was well way down the hallway, she had begun to approach the voices, and could make out their words more clearly, but she was quickly disappointed; it was merely some staff gossiping and chatting amongst themselves, presumably because they were on their lunch break. The Princess was ready to try another door when she heard a hissing noise, and she immediately turned around to see Ty Lee, who was gesturing for her to come down the hallway. Her eyes widened as she realised what that might mean, and she quickly made her way down to meet with her friend, who paced back around the corner.

Azula followed after the acrobat, who walked with light-feet, momentarily eyeing down the staircase as they passed it before she returned her attention to the hallway. When she reached the next corner, Ty Lee leaned around, checking for a second before she continued onward, her friend following right behind; she took her to a door, which she quickly opened, before stepping inside; the Princess' assumption was confirmed when she saw Sokka in there, kneeling down by a tall set of cabinets, the open one having paper sticking out of it.

"Finally." she whispered, letting herself smile for just a moment before she closed the door behind herself, "This is exactly what we were looking for." she acknowledged, before turning back to her friend, "Get the others, tell them to secure the hallway and make sure we won't get spotted when we take what we need."

"And how are you gonna look through all of these? Somebody will have to come back before you could even get through half."

"That's why we're going to get as many people in here as we can, and only take and read what is absolutely necessary." she declared, before pointing to the door, "Go, now." she ordered her, and Ty Lee complied, not even trying to bow or make a pleasantry out of it; she just pushed the door open, checked, and departed, leaving her and Sokka in the records room alone.

"Well, uh, time to read." her boyfriend awkwardly commented on their circumstances, and Azula rolled her eyes, not finding it amusing, with a clear time limit bearing down on them; they had no idea how long it could take them to get found out, and if they did, then chaos would ensue, and not the kind that she liked to take advantage of.

She strode down the closest aisle, and ran her hand by each of the cabinets, checking each of their titles; there were a variety of things the provincial government had to keep records of, but most of them weren't of much interest to her. It didn't take long for her to reach what she had desired to find, a cabinet titled: 'executive orders', which concerned the direct commands of the Governor to his employees and the citizens under his watch. They were kept presumably in case of any legal disputes he might have with some uppity businessman or the likes, if he imposed some restriction or blanket ban they didn't like. Opening the cabinet, she saw a number of documents, written out in print all marked with the seal of the Fire Nation and the governor himself; she knew some of them would key in exactly what Gyoko had made the Governor do, and what was planned next for Shengchang in her father's grand scheme to reunite the Fire Nation under his firm grip.

She began sifting through each of the documents, eyeing their titles as she tried to figure out what exactly the Governor had been doing in the time since Ozai's seizure of power; what she found wasn't really surprising, as most documents related to the declaration of restricted zones in the province and the occupation of private land by military forces. Upon closer inspection, she found something rather odd; the Governor had used eminent domain, at General Gyoko's request, to seize a number of warehouses, which was rather confusing, given that the military already had their own storehouses at the local barracks. There was also the issuing of a flat, one time tax on every property owner in the city, which was justified under the request of Fire Lord Ozai's order for the funding of local militias, which seemed to indicate they were planning to arm 'patriotic citizens', as her father would call them, to suppress either a revolt by the locals, or her own attack.

Azula turned to face Sokka, gesturing for him to come over; he pushed the cabinet he'd been looking through shut, before stepping toward her, eyeing the cabinet she had open, "What kind of orders has he been giving out?" he whispered, and she raised a finger to hush him.

"Have you seen commoners with weapons while we've been here?" she asked, and Sokka nodded.

"Uh, yeah, I saw a few guys with pikes and some crappy looking armour getting trained in an empty plot while we were out in the streets." he explained, and she pursed her lips.

"The Governor's having a militia trained... obviously, my father wants to one up us and have his own irregular fighting force to combat us in the colonies." she explained, and Sokka hummed in interest.

"Well, could we turn the tables on him, and get them to help you?"

"Probably not. These people are going to be the unpersuadable types... the men who truly believe in Sozin's mission." she argued, "Probably veterans, if I'd have to make a guess."

"So, that's a no." he sighed, before glancing back at the cabinet, "Find anything else interesting?" he asked, and she pulled out the documents concerning eminent domain, handing them to Sokka.

"They've been seizing properties, and I don't think it's because the army wants more space to camp." she warned him.

"Uh... so warehouses." he gave a succinct description of what the Governor had taken, "With what in them?"

"Oh, we're going to find out soon enough." she assured him, before she tilted her head to look behind him, "What did you find?"

"Just all the correspondences the army has made to the Governor, before and after your brother got done in." he explained with a tone that didn't respect the gravity of what he'd found.

"That's more important that some warehouses and old fools readying to fight." she scoffed, "What's the latest news?"

"That somebody called Lieutenant-General Kure requested reinforcements to protect Yuehe Province." he clarified, "From... uh... Huang'an Province. I can't actually remember where that is on the map."

"To the southwest of here." she clarified, "It's about a ten day trip for men on foot... it's by the coast."

"Oh, but don't Zuko's loyalists control the whole Mo Ce Sea?" he asked her, and she raised a finger to her chin, recalling what she could about that province.

"Huang'an is a poor, unpopulated place. The only good reason for holding it is so Earth Kingdom insurgents don't use it as a base." she explained, before clenching her fist, "How long ago was that request tabled?"

"It's dated to four days ago."

"We have a week until they get here at most... and I assume this won't just be the scraps of a division. We'll have a real fight on our hands." she warned him, and Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder.

"By then we'll have this place, and who knows, maybe we can fabricate a letter to send them somewhere else?"

"Like where?"

"I don't know, Pohuai? That's close, right?"

"Close enough." she confirmed, before grinning, "I've been waiting to get back at Shinu for betraying us."

---

Katara honestly hadn't expected to have as productive a day as they had, and more than that, she hadn't expected to go off shopping; Sokka, being ever-restless, suggested they go get some more supplies in preparation for whatever moves they made when the city was attacked. With Azula's approval, they went off into the streets, wearing their disguises which made them appear like any other Fire Nation colonials; Aang tagged along with the siblings, being just as restless as her brother, and he was eager to go and find something interesting in the market.

They had gone to buy supplies for their plans against the Governor, which were to take place while the city itself was being attacked; Azula had plans to corner him and the leadership of the remains of Gyoko's army, so all they needed to buy were those tools they needed to get into the city hall once more. Their equipment consisted of rope, hooks, and a number of bottles, which Sokka explained he could fill with substances that would give them the distractions they might need. It wasn't as if they could buy smoke bombs at a market, and her brother had been as forward to suggest they go and look at the addresses Azula had gathered to see if the garrison were hiding things like that there. Katara and Aang refused at once, agreeing that it was just far too dangerous without any idea of who or what could be inside.

Now, as they headed home, she was just glad that none of the guards had picked up on their odd shopping pattern, and that the city as a whole seemed rather calm; though she felt guilty about what Azula was about to inflict on Shengchang, she knew that her defeat of Ozai was necessary for the future they all sought, so the battle that was fast approaching was just as inevitable as the rising of the sun in the morning. They had already made their choices, and now, she felt uneasy as she looked around, realising that the people had no idea of what was really about to happen; they might have heard about the battle back in the hills, or the increased military presence, but she was sure things like that had already happened over the course of the civil war, which had been raging for over nine months now.

"So, what you got there?" her brother peered over her shoulder, making Katara flinch for a moment, as she had just thought a guard had snuck up on them; she glanced down at the bag she had slung over her shoulder, which had a piece of fabric poking out of it; she scrunched her lips up and tilted her head towards Aang, who was pacing ahead of them, eyeing some stalls selling street food.

"Oh, a gift?" he whispered, seeming intrigued, "So that's your strategy." he noted, making her blush, realising what he was trying to imply.

"No, no it has nothing to do with anything like that." she denied his idea, before lowering her voice, "It's an earthbending scroll."

"So, you didn't steal this one." he observed with a smirk, "That's some good progress on your part."

"We stole that other one because it was obviously stolen. I bought this from some old Earth Kingdom lady."

"Okay, okay, I believe you." he assured her that he wasn't accusing her of theft, before his gaze returned to Aang, "But why are you getting it for him?"

"Because he needs it... and I thought I owe him after he saved my butt that one time we were off alone together."

"You mean when you got mixed up in a terror attack... by Earth Kingdom rebels... that's pretty funny when you think about it."

"There's nothing funny about our lives being in danger." she argued, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess Azula's rubbed off on me a little with her sense of humour." he conceded, before scrunching up his lips, "Well by that argument, you owe Toph as well. Didn't she keep the two of you safe when you freed some prisoners."

"She was a one-man army against that village's garrison. It was crazy."

"Earthbending's just overpowered." he argued, "The only reason they kept losing the war is because their government's incompetent."

"Yeah... I guess you're right about that. They're really tough people, but... they couldn't help themselves. We didn't fare much better."

"Well, we didn't have the advantage of numbers at the South Pole. Our ancestors fought hard, but... hey, we never gave up." Sokka contended, and she smiled, confident that they might be able to inspire people to fight once more, for something more than an endless war; if they were lucky, Azula's fight against her father would be a short one, and they could all go home content, but she couldn't bring herself to be that hopeful.

"Maybe things will go better this time." she suggested, before pacing faster, deciding she ought to keep up with Aang, and make sure he stayed out of trouble; despite trying his best to put on a serious façade, she knew that he liked and probably wanted to joke around and have fun- she just wanted to make sure that happened away from public view where his identity might be revealed, "Aang, slow down." she addressed the Air Nomad boy, who turned around and grinned at her.

"Hey, Katara." he noted her presence chirpily, before his expression softened, "Is... uh, something wrong? Is the arrow showing?" he whispered to her nervously, and she shook her head.

"No, no, it's not that." she assured him, "We just need to stick together... I don't want to lose you if we get into a crowd."

"Heh... I guess you can't spot the bald head anymore." he conceded with a sheepish smile as he tapped his scalp, and Sokka snickered behind them; Aang looked back at him, not seeming offended, but just contemplative as he eyed around them, "It's true. I just look like everybody else."

"And that's an advantage." the Water Tribe warrior assured him, "I wouldn't want a literal target marked on my forehead on show." he argued, before cringing slightly, "I don't know how much you care about the tattoos... but sorry, I guess?"

"Uh..." Aang awkwardly mumbled, leaving the two Water Tribe siblings eyeing each other, Katara feeling like her brother had been a little too blunt, but at least he had backtracked and apologised, "I mean I do care... but I can see why other people don't use anything like them. They can be pretty annoying if you just want to blend in." he conceded, before scratching his scalp, "But I'm proud of them. I got them younger than anybody else."

"I mean, being the-" Sokka began, before cutting himself off; he almost name-dropped the Avatar in front of a bunch of people in a market, "Whew, almost got myself there."

"Let's just get going. I'm sure- uh, you know who will lose it at you if we show up late." Katara warned her brother, who nodded, seeming to agree with the sentiment.

"She would... if we had a deadline." he argued with a smirk, before pacing along, "Anyway, we've already gotten what we wanted, so we should go."

"I was looking at these funny hats somebody was selling." Aang complained, gesturing to said stall, but the Water Tribesman ignored him, just pushing him ahead so they could continue towards the end of the market.

"As much as I like shopping... no, we don't have any reason to linger around here." he warned him, and Katara nodded, cautiously glancing over her shoulder to eye the nearest unit of guards.

"We have a good one to leave." she conceded, "Come on, Aang, there's always another time you can go buy something like that. Plus, the money we were given was for supplies only."

"I still have some." he spoke up, before reaching into his pocket, fidgeting around with whatever coins he had in there; his disappointed face said enough, and he continued after Sokka, knowing he didn't have enough money to buy whatever he liked.

As they strode towards the end of the market, Sokka gestured to a narrow street to their right, and Katara raised a brow, unsure why he wanted to go that way, "What's the idea?"

"Oh, I just wanted to show you two something on the way." he clarified, "You remember my story about what happened in Shengchang last time we were here, right?"

"When you... uh, actually I can't really remember what you said you did. Didn't you just go and meet the people at the warehouse?" Aang asked him, and he nodded.

"Well yes, but we had to make a distraction." he clarified, leading them down the street towards what she could tell was probably the area filled with heavy industry, given the thick smell in the air, and the smokestacks ahead of them, "So we robbed that market back there and led the guards on a little chase." he explained, gesturing down the street, "And ran down this way, trying to find a way to lose them."

"And how'd you manage that?" Katara asked, crossing her arms, "I don't imagine you knocked them all out."

"Nah, that would have been way too much effort, and plus, it was only me and Ty Lee." he conceded, "We're good at chi-blocking, but neither of us could fight off thirty guards at once."

"Yeah, but maybe Toph could." Aang suggested, and Sokka just rolled his eyes.

"Bending's just cheating. It doesn't count- I'm talking about fists and feet." he retorted, before shaking his head, obviously not wanting to devolve into an argument about who could fight who and how many people at once, leaving Katara just glad Toph hadn't actually chosen to come along- she would have found it too easy to start arguing with her brother, "Anyway, that's not what we're talking about. It didn't come down to a fight, well, at least not a big one."

"So then, what happened?"

"We snuck into one of those big factories." he gestured to the buildings ahead of them, "Climbed through a window, and got up high into the building, before sneaking out another window; they followed us inside through another path, but we were already gone by the time they got in."

"And then you ran across the rooftops." Aang eagerly assumed what came next, and Sokka scrunched his lips up.

"Eh, maybe Ty Lee could have tried that with her acrobatics and all that... but we didn't." he conceded, "We just got back down to street level and kept running until we got to the warehouse." he explained, before raising a finger, "We did run into five guards and beat them first, though."

"That doesn't sound like much of a challenge." Aang conceded, and Sokka shot him another glare.

"After all that running, you try and have a 'fun' fight, how about that?" he questioned him, before sighing, "Though, Ty Lee did supposedly have fun. I enjoyed the trickery at least."

"You weren't thinking of reusing that strategy against the guards around city hall, were you?" Katara asked her brother, sure that the strategy might have come to mind in considering their upcoming take-over of the city.

"Uh... probably wouldn't work. There'd be too many guards stationed around... unless we just set like a whole block on fire. That'd get them up in arms, I'd say." he suggested, before shaking his head, "That's not my plan." he assured her; it certainly didn't sound like something he'd approve of, especially after what happened in Yu Dao.

"Good to hear. I didn't want to be the bait." Katara gave her opinion with a degree of bluntness she knew her brother would tolerate; they were always honest with each other, or at least, as honest as they could be with anybody else.

"I wouldn't make you the bait, little sister." he assured her, before gesturing to Aang, "He's far better at fleeing. He'd be a superior kind of bait."

Aang leaned over to her and whispered, "Is that a compliment?" seeming unsure of Sokka's intention in saying what he had.

"Well, that's what I think. Whether you like that or not doesn't really matter."

"Just like Azula's opinion on Water Tribe food." he retorted, clearly in jest, and Sokka caught that, smiling back at him.

"Definitely." he agreed with him, "Nobody's opinions on anything should hurt your feelings, unless they're going to hurt you because of those opinions." he acknowledged, "Like everyone thinking you're a danger to the entire Fire Nation." he suggested quietly, "Good if Earth Kingdom peasants think that, not so much Fire Nation ones." he gave a clear contrast in the outcomes of such an opinion, which Katara realised was quite widely held.

"Huh, so maybe I should show the world that I'm not a danger to any nation. I just want peace, you know." he proposed, Katara hushing him as she realised he may have been speaking a little too loudly.

"Well, yes, but... we can still make use of people's grievances. The whole Earth Kingdom can trust somebody whose people the Fire Nation destroyed." Sokka suggested, and Aang nodded slowly, seeming to be a little uneasy after being reminded of what happened to the Air Nomads.

"I-" he mumbled, "I don't want to hate them. I really don't."

"And even though I think you should... that's respectable. It takes courage to forgive them after what happened." Sokka smiled back at him, seeming to surprise the young Air Nomad, Katara grimacing for a moment; she and her brother didn't like to talk about it, but they had their own misgivings about the Fire Nation after all the Southern Raiders had done to their lives, to their whole tribe.

"Do you?" he decided to ask after a few moments of silence, and Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know whether to feel disgusted by the fact that I don't, or happy that the weight of all that anger has been lifted." he conceded, seeming not too frustrated by his own feelings; he wasn't ever talking about what happened to their tribe any more- he had barely mentioned it since they actually faced off against the Southern Raiders.

Katara couldn't say the same, and though she felt like she ought to say something, and give her own opinion, she knew that would just keep everyone in a dour mood, if not agitate her brother by forcing him to relive those memories again in his mind, and be reminded how much their mother's death weighed on them both. She didn't want to bog down Aang in his own grief; he mightn't have had to directly face the destruction of his people, but he lived on with the guilt of surviving, and not having been there to try and protect them.

"Everyone deals with things differently." she spoke up, before smiling, "Let's just get back. I'm sure Azula's going to be annoyed if we take any longer."

"She didn't seem that fussed when we left." Aang contended, not seeming to be approved by Sokka.

"Oh, that's what she wants you to think. She's always ready to criticise us, if we make a single mistake, or are slow, or even just don't seem ready for the day."

"I think you mean you... it sounds like a you-problem." Katara corrected her brother, who pouted, realising that he was the one who had to deal with the Princess's antics, more than anybody else.

"Aw man." he muttered under his breath, "I just hope she likes what we bought."

"None of it is really useful by itself." she conceded, "She'll like the end-result, I'm guessing."

"Yeah, when she sees something blow up." he jokingly agreed with her, before his expression became more serious, "We don't have anything to blow up, actually."

"She's probably trying to find something to blow up." Aang suggested, "I mean... other than the airship."

"Well, she's not blowing that up... again." the Water Tribe girl corrected him, "The bombs onboard, they'll be making a mess of this place, soon enough."

"Hopefully not a big one. I don't want any more people getting hurt in this fight." the Air Nomad boy wishfully commented, and the two siblings eyed each other, knowing certainly that wouldn't be the case; the war amongst the Fire Nation wasn't ever going to be resolved totally peacefully, and everything they'd seen thus far gave clear evidence to the whole country's propensity for violence.

"Sometimes you need to fight." Katara warned him, "Even if you think things can work out peacefully, other people don't think so optimistically."

"Are they afraid of each other?" he asked her, and she turned to face her brother, who seemed more concerned than before.

"I don't know whether to be happy that they lost their unity. We were always so afraid of the Fire Nation, but now I pity them." he explained his own feelings, "But I know that this has to end one way or another. Neither side will allow the other to exist."

"You make it sound like they're going to destroy each other." Aang admitted nervously, and Sokka shook his head.

"It's not lives that I'm talking about; it's support and morale. Without anyone willing to defend him, Ozai will lose." he assured him, "This is about making the people of the world see a better path... Not just trying to destroy everyone and everything that opposes peace."

"That's... that's pretty inspiring." Katara mumbled, actually rather impressed by the way in which her brother was able to reassure the young Air Nomad; coming from a pacifist people, he mustn't have felt confident in supporting one side in a war over another.

"Well, I'd hope so." he admitted awkwardly, before turning to face Aang, "So, what do you think? Do you think we can do this?"

"I want to make the world better." he smiled back at him, "Balance doesn't just have to be making everything back the way it was... right?"

"I don't know." Sokka admitted, before cringing, "I don't think things were really that good. You'd seen the Earth Kingdom back then... what do you think?"

"The monks always warned us about the... problems they had, away from the temple. There's a reason I've never been to Ba Sing Se... and why I hope we can help the people there."

"Yeah, that's the deal we're offering." the Water Tribesman noted with an almost sad look on his face, "I wish things hadn't turned out so bad there. It's like they have no luck whatsoever."

"What about us?" Katara asked him, reminding him that despite the oppression the people in Ba Sing Se had suffered, their tribe had been pushed to the brink of extinction and scattered apart from each other, something that was far worse, and indicative of their own lack of good tidings.

"Oh, but you found Aang, remember?" he smirked at her, "If that isn't the best luck in the world, I don't know what is."

"Okay, you do have a point." she conceded, knowing that she and Azula may have changed the fate of the world, and with it, their lives, by finding Aang; she didn't know what would have happened if the Avatar hadn't been found, but the idea of them just sitting in the South Pole while Zuko was killed and Ozai set about on his plans of world domination scared her as much as the idea of facing the man himself.

She wasn't a coward, and she knew Aang wasn't either, despite his desire to avoid a fight; he wanted to bring about justice, and peace, more than anything, and she could agree with that sentiment. Things were definitely not right, and they were the ones with the power to change things.

A few moments later, her brother cleared his throat, gesturing around them, as they had just been standing in an alleyway after Sokka showed them how he and Ty Lee shook off the guards, "So, are we actually going to go back? I've been enjoying this riveting conversation as much as you guys, but Azula's going to have my head if we're late."

"She didn't give us a deadline." Aang clarified, and the Water Tribe warrior raised a finger, his lips straight and eyes wide.

"This is Azula we're talking about. She has a field trip out of making excuses to berate me... and being late while she has some new intel to discuss or something like that would give her reason to whack us all over the head."

"I'd dodge that." the Air Nomad boy proclaimed with a surprising amount of confidence, and Sokka chuckled awkwardly.

"I don't think that'd lead the way you think it would." he warned him, before he began pacing out of the alleyway, "We're not that far from the warehouse. Let's just keep at it."

"Yeah, plus, we can't make dinner if we don't get back." Katara added, both Aang and Sokka's heads turning to face her, both looking interested now that food was mentioned.

"I am pretty hungry." the Avatar mumbled, and her brother just salivated, before pacing off.

"To dinner!" he proclaimed with a fist raised into the air, making the other two snicker, following after him as he almost marched down the street, though he regained his composure once they came across other people.

The walk back towards the warehouse was rather uneventful, though walking past some patrolling guards had put Katara on edge; their glares and snappy attitudes with the locals told her enough about their present state of mind. They were on edge, probably being fed a bunch of demands by the Governor after what had happened to General Gyoko and his army; Azula's forces were on the approach, and she wouldn't be surprised if word of their movements was to arrive within a few hours.

It was only a matter of time before scouts spotted the lines of soldiers marching up the roads towards Shengchang, and Katara was unsure what might follow for them, now that they were inside the city. Their safety wasn't certain, and though she kept up a smile and confident outward appearance, she was still concerned that the rug could be swept from underneath them; the Princess's machinations might have been cautious and slow, but that mightn't protect them if they still had the smallest slip up.

When they turned down the alleyway, she spotted one of the usual men who guarded the building standing there, pretending as if he were just idling about instead of ensuring nobody went inside; he noted their arrival, and knocked on the door a few times before it opened up.

He eyed behind them, and turned to face Sokka, "Did anybody follow you?"

"No, I've been checking. We're clean." he assured him, and Katara blinked a few times, realising she hadn't even been paying attention; it was only really when they came across guards that she had put any thought into it, but anybody could have been following them in plain clothes, if they had reason to suspect them.

"The Princess is waiting for you all." he added, and Sokka sighed.

"Knew it." he mumbled under his breath, "Okay, well let's get inside then." he declared his intentions, and Aang and Katara followed right after him, making their way into the building; they kept pace as they winded down the hallway and through the main floor of the warehouse, before climbing the stairs up to the meeting area.

There she could see the Princess sitting with a few other members of the organisation, though the table was less full than it had been that morning; she assumed that they only convened at certain times of the day to discuss information they'd gathered, and even then, she was under the assumption that only a few people would be meeting at any given time, with the number of people working for their group counting far higher than the mere two dozen people she'd seen inside the warehouse. With Azula sat Ty Lee and Toph, the latter seeming rather bored, while the former perked up upon seeing them arrive.

"Hi guys!" she beamed at them, "Did your shopping go well?"

"Yeah it went fine." Sokka assured her, before smirking, "I showed them where we tricked those guards last time."

"Ah, that was fun." she smiled, "You remember that right, Zula?" she asked her friend, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I was off escorting that cart, not with you." she told her as her gaze turned to the new arrivals, "You took your time... and I spent mine well."

"Gathering more information, right?" Katara guessed, and the Princess tilted her head.

"Not exactly." she conceded, "I was able to investigate some of the addresses Sokka brought to my attention when we raided the records room for all it could tell us. Turns out the army is using the materials inside to produce what looks like explosives, just like Mister Takumi had been doing for us. I'm surprised his own factories haven't been seized yet, but perhaps his business is still useful for the Governor." she conceded, before turning to face Kibo, who Katara had come to assume as the de facto leader of the organisation, at least in terms of communicating the plans and operations of her group, "When exactly will I be meeting him?"

"Tomorrow morning. Your army is only three days away, right?"

"Yes, but we will need to make moves before they arrive. Sabotage and finding some new allies is in order."

"New allies?" Aang asked, his interest piqued by that, and she raised a hand.

"I'll get to that bit in a second." she clarified, before placing her hands together, "The first and most important thing is we'll need to take those explosives, and just give them to Mister Takumi. Without the arms they might seek to use against my army, we will have crippled their defensive capabilities."

"That works." Sokka nodded along, before scrunching his lips, "But who are the new allies you want to get on our side?"

"You might have heard them when we were sneaking into the town hall. Didn't seem to be very happy with the Governor and his policies... and by extension, my father's." she smirked, "Remember when we talked about patriots?"

Kibo rose to her feet, "Brilliant idea, your majesty. "she commended her, "So we will be using those disenchanted soldiers against their superiors. How will you sway them to your side?"

"Remind them of who they swore allegiance to. They used to serve me, after all." she smirked, before her expression became more stoic, "I don't intend to just use their history with me to sway them... I will try and tell them what exactly is wrong with the side they have chosen. Not everyone is going to be so blindly loyal to my father after all the chaos he's caused."

"And the Governor's definitely helping us here. The worse he cracks down on dissent and tries to keep himself in power, the more the soldiers and guardsmen will see what's wrong with fighting for him." Sokka added his own thoughts, "It's a test run for Ba Sing Se, when you think about it."

"Precisely." she confirmed, making Toph snicker.

"Yeah, no offence, but the Dai Li are going to be far harder to fight than a bunch of soldiers who already know their friends got beaten to a pulp by your army." she warned them, "I do like your tactic though."

"Well, I believe that somebody's already been using it to great effect." she admitted, "My uncle is the most well known general of the Fire Nation, and he has great sway over the armed forces. Without his influence and persuasive ability, I doubt much of the military would have simply stepped in line to follow Zuko after his coup."

"Yeah... uh, Shinu." Sokka mumbled, referring to how Iroh had swindled them out of an ally while they were fleeing from Yu Dao; Katara had heard the story many times, but that part stuck out as just showing how out of her depth Azula had been during her fight against Zuko- she wasn't really as respected as she believed herself to be.

"What we've learned since then has given me the kind of plan these 'traitors' would follow me for."

"I mean calling them traitors is a bit far when half the world thought you might have died." Sokka conceded, before narrowing his eyes, "But, uh, are we doing anything else today?"

"No, not really." she admitted, Aang rising up to his feet, stretching his arms.

"Good, 'cause I want some dinner." he declared, which made Sokka beam, clearly enticed by the idea of a meal after a long day.

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"Of course." Azula and Katara muttered at the same time, the two of them locking eyes for a moment, before the two of them snickered, knowing him far too well to be surprised by his appetite.

"But who's going to cook?" Ty Lee wondered aloud, and the Water Tribe girl eyed her companions, unsure if she would be forced to cook once again because the others were lazy or lacked any confidence in their cooking skills.

"Eh... I guess group effort?" Sokka cautiously gave an idea, not seeming like he actually wanted to help make dinner, but knowing it was better than making his sister do it.

"What a good idea." Aang grinned in agreement, before turning his head around, "Uh, there's just one problem."

"All our cooking equipment is in the saddle bags, yeah I know." Katara sighed, having realised it would be far too much of a hassle to bring that all with them to the warehouse, "I checked around here earlier. They have enough stuff in the workers' kitchen for us to use." she acknowledged, before turning to face the others on the table, "We'd be able to do that, right?"

They nodded along, not seeming fussed at all,"Well somebody ought to be using it all anyway." one of them, an older man conceded before scrunching his lips up, "Don't know if we've got enough ingredients, though.'

"Oh we got that sorted." Sokka assured him, "We just went shopping, and I would never forget to buy food."

"You'd buy food before buying a bed." Azula taunted him, and he just snapped a finger in retort.

"Sleeping on the ground won't kill me... But starvation could." he argued, Aang awkwardly clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Uh, are we going to go or what?"

"Never thought you'd be more eager than me." Sokka admitted, and the Air Nomad boy just shrugged his shoulders.

"We didn't really have lunch." he reminded them, and the Water Tribe warrior just scrunched his lips up.

"Well, I had my jerky... oh." he realised that unlike himself, Aang didn't have the luxury of snacking on jerky whenever he liked, "Let's go make it. To the kitchen!" he declared as he stood up, pointing to the staircase, making the Princess roll her eyes before she too rose to her feet.

The others followed suit, and Katara waved goodbye to those remaining at the table, as even if she didn't really know them, she knew she ought to be polite, given they were going to be helping them free Shengchang from Ozai's rule. They did the same, awkwardly smiling back at her, before some of them began whispering amongst themselves; she didn't imagine they trusted foreigners, because she certainly hadn't before she had much interaction with them. She followed her friends down the staircase, making her way back to the narrow hallway that led to the usual exit they took out; before they reached it, Sokka opened a door, leading them into the kitchen, and the group filed in watching as her brother investigated the various culinary implements on the kitchen top and the various cupboards and draws that sat below it.

He turned around, rising back up to point at them, "What are we making, anyway?"

"Something that isn't stew, preferably." Toph voiced her opinion on the matter, and Ty Lee's head perked up in excitement.

"Ooh! Ooh! How about stir-fry instead?" she suggested, and the group eyed each other, seeming to all agree to the proposition.

"Well, we'll need oil and some noodles for that." Sokka noted the required ingredients, before he pointed to their left, "There's the pantry. Somebody get what we need."

Aang stepped over to the pantry, and opened it up, pulling out a flask of vegetable oil and a wrapped bundle of noodles; he placed both down on the bench top, and Sokka glanced around the kitchen, "Uh, well, we're going to need some water to cook the noodles in first." he clarified, and Katara raised a brow, wondering if that meant he wanted her to bend some for him.

She glanced about the room, unable to see or sense any containers of water, but she knew that the cityfolk must have had some water sources, like wells, to rely on. There was always the stream that ran through Shengchang, but she doubted that it would provide enough water on its own. She saw the others turn their gaze to her, obviously thinking she'd know how to get them some water, and she gave them an awkward smile.

"I guess I could go find some. How about the rest of you start cooking up the vegetables first though?" she suggested, and the group nodded in unison, though Aang stepped over to her, probably thinking he could lend a hand.

"I could go help you get some water." he suggested, and she shook her head.

"I'm just getting a single bucket. We've already got our own drinking water so we don't need much." she assured him, "There's probably a well nearby. I've just got to find it."

She made her way towards the door, when she was stopped by Ty Lee, who had a smile on her lips, "Hey, can I go?" she whispered to her, "I've been stuck here all day. Zula didn't let me go investigate those warehouses with her." she explained, and Katara shrugged her shoulders, not really minding if she came along- the company would be appreciated, and she hadn't really spoken to Ty Lee all that much since they returned to the base.

The acrobat picked up the bucket that was sitting beside the kitchen top, and the two of them paced out into the hallway and over to the exit; she heard Azula grumbling about something as they left, but the Water Tribe girl didn't have much care for it. They were only going out for a short trip, and she would be sure to avoid getting tangled around any of the guards; though she'd had practice pretending to be someone that she wasn't, she knew that just avoiding all the questioning they might receive from guards that might recognise them as being newcomers was a better strategy that making up a fake character and past in her head to play.

When she pushed the door open, the guard who had been standing there before eyed her and Ty Lee, seeming confused as to why they were leaving, "Aren't you staying here tonight?" he asked them, and they nodded, the acrobat showing off the bucket.

"We're just getting water for dinner, that's all." she clarified, and he nodded, gesturing to his left, down the alleyway towards a major street.

"The closest well is that way. Just turn right over there and follow the street to the crossroads, you can't miss it." he gave them directions that they hadn't even bothered to ask for; Katara had seen a few wells on their shopping trip, but none were very close to the warehouse.

"That's real helpful. Thanks... uh, man." Ty Lee awkwardly thanked the man, probably not knowing how she ought to be addressing members of the group; the organisation that had sprouted up in Shengchang was not really subordinate to Azula, even if they sought to make her Fire Lord, and they were as much their allies as King Bumi and his forces were.

As they made their way down the alleyway, Katara eyed the street ahead of them, and saw a few pedestrians walk by, none of them minding to look their way; everyone seemed so busy in the city, even with the threat of Azula's force attacking looming over them. Perhaps they had grown accustomed to the war, in a way that her tribe hadn't; they were in Fire Nation territory, after all, where they were the victors, if they could even call themselves that. It was either that or everyone was as good at her hiding their fear and unease about all the violence.

"Do you think they're afraid?" she asked Ty Lee, who glanced around for a few seconds before she realised she was referring to the general populace, and she stood still for a moment.

"Maybe. I mean... I was kind of afraid after I heard about everything that had gone on with Azula and Zuko in Yu Dao, and then, everything just seemed to go crazy. We always tried to avoid the fighting in the circus, but I guess not everyone has the freedom to just up and go whenever they please." she explained what she thought, from her own perspective; she had lived in the colonies for the best part of the last three years, and she didn't seem too fazed by everything that was going on, but now, it was clear that she did hold some fears about the war, "There's not much they can do. Why be afraid? This is their home... they know the enemy isn't coming here to destroy them."

"But what if that's what ends up happening. Ozai's forces could come back once we win... if we win." she softened her words, realising that she couldn't be that confident until she saw the airship and army arrive for herself.

"If they do... then it's our job to protect them... I mean it's kind of Aang's, and Azula's too, but we can help, so we should." she argued, her own confidence shining through with her warm smile; she always had such a positive, upbeat view about things that Katara almost felt bad that she'd been dragged along to go help Azula; she wasn't a bad person in the slightest, and even if she hadn't really done much to stop the war, there wasn't much any one person could do- now, she was going to do that, and that inspired Katara more than anything.

"Yeah, you're right." she agreed with her, "We've got to do everything we can... because if we won't... who will?"

---

The cover of night was the most opportune time to let a messenger hawk loose, and though Sokka was afraid they'd get caught by the patrolling soldiers that protected the city, he knew that their letters would solve that problem quickly enough. They had only been in Shengchang for two days, but now, they were poised to inform the approaching army of what they were to face; the defenders weren't as strong as they looked, with their morale faltering after Gyoko's defeat, and being forced to rely off of seizing civilian properties to use them for creating weaponry.

Usually, according to Azula at least, the Fire Nation military would be armed by a constant stream of shipments from the homeland, which had dried up because of the conflict between the two main parties of the civil war- those who had supported Zuko, and those who supported Ozai. The navy was split almost evenly between the two of them, but the northern fleet, which had been loyal to Zhao, was now under their command, and harrassing Ozai's supply lines at every turn. Even with much of the homeland under their control, they were unable to keep up supply; that was ultimately the one thing that gave them the advantage in their fight. They had dragged the enemy down to their own level, and despite their own lack of armaments, that had not stopped them from reengineering Fire Navy technology to create an even more powerful weapon, the airship.

He felt confident, or at least, as confident as he could that they would win the coming fight, but he knew that until then, danger still loomed over them all; even with Toph's seismic sense and the potential of getting some of the soldiers to join their side, he knew that it mightn't mean much when a hundred soldiers could be ready to storm the warehouse as soon as their presence was revealed. They were risking much in even going out to the woods again, but Azula told him it was necessary to ensure the letters weren't intercepted; what would be worse than them being found was their plans being learned of by the defenders, which would ruin the element of surprise totally.

They hadn't gone far from the built up areas of the city, but like before, they had had to rely on Toph to make sure they didn't accidentally run into a patrol. Aang tagged along as well, wanting to check on Appa while he was out in the woods, and though he was eager to go off by himself, Sokka couldn't help but worry after he disappeared behind the cover of the countless trees. He knew that the boy could quite easily evade capture, but that wasn't what made him tense up; however, Sokka was certain that if he frantically fled from the soldiers, he would fail to hide his airbending and reveal himself as the Avatar, which would inadvertently alert the Governor and the soldiers about Azula being in the city, or at least, close by. It was that fact that made him keep close to his girlfriend, just hoping that this wasn't their last day of hiding; for all their strength, it wouldn't do much against a horde of fearful soldiers, knowing what would happen to them if they allowed the Princess to escape again.

When they reached their launch point, the top of a nearby hill, which overlooked the city, Sokka took a moment to eye the expanse of Shengchang, and images ran through his head, recalling what had happened to Yu Dao, the last city he and Azula had got messed up in. Now, they had a better plan, but he knew that no plan was flawless, no matter how much thought went into it; that fear was still in the back of his mind, yelling at him to get out of Shengchang, and stop putting himself, and everyone else in danger. He knew that those thoughts were just a distraction, but they kept nagging at him; the fact that he could be putting countless lives in danger by going along with Azula's plan was more than a little concerning.

She must have figured out something was wrong, because instead of demanding he release the caged messenger hawk he'd been carrying on his back, she just glared at him; not angry, or at least, not angry at him, but just seeming confused, "You're not that nervous, are you?"

"What am I meant to say?" he simply asked in return, and Toph just snickered at that.

"Yeah, big plans get me worried too." she conceded, showing a shred of empathy that was rather odd for the girl; she'd probably make fun of him in any other circumstance, but she must have been thinking the same thing he was- Azula hadn't seen the kind of fighting the two of them had, after all.

"It's just a city... and not a very important one at that. My father hasn't even bothered to bolster the garrison yet." the Princess argued, obviously confident, but that wasn't what was of interest to Sokka; she must have had her own concerns, but she wasn't going to be frank about them, to save face and keep up morale, "If we fail here, that'd make all that effort against Gyoko's army pointless." she warned, and the other two nodded; the earthbender didn't seem all that interested, just sensing around for whatever might come their way, and unsurprisingly, she gestured off to their left.

"There's a patrol coming this way. We better hurry." she warned them, and Sokka quickly pulled the cage off of his back, taking off the piece of tarp that had been covering it, revealing the dazed and confused looking messenger hawk.

"He looks tired." he spoke his mind, "Do you want some food, buddy?" he asked it with a smile, pulling out some seeds from his bag; the bird's head perked up in interest, and it reached forward, its beak sliding through the bars so it could take some of the seeds.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Azula had pulled out the scroll they'd be sending to the approaching army; she must have been doing final checks, to make sure there were no mistakes, but once she had glanced over, she rolled it back up, stepping over to the cage.

"Let it out, Sokka." she requested calmly, and he did just that; the bird, still wanting seeds, perched on his left arm and ate out of his right, allowing the Princess to place the scroll in the holster on the hawk's back.

"Is that everything?" he asked her, and his girlfriend's lips pursed into a smile, suggesting she had an idea in mind; she drew out a piece of blue fabric, and tied it to the ankle of the bird.

"We should make sure it doesn't just look like any other bird. They might think it's a trick sent by the Governor, otherwise." she suggested, and Sokka scrunched his lips up.

"The letter has your seal on it. How more official could this look?"

"Well, it doesn't look official. It just looks like any other messenger hawk sent by a civilian, except for that band of fabric." she explained, and Toph groaned, clearly frustrated with their usage of the time they had.

"We need to go, lovebirds. Or should I say... bird lovers?" she asked them in jest, Azula creating a blue torch in her left hand, forcing the Water Tribesman to reach over and grab her wrist.

"If you actually hurt her, that would just complicate things." he warned her, and though she tried to pull her hand free, she just eyed him, and rolled her eyes slowly, before she snapped her fingers, creating a small blue torch, the appearance of which scared off the messenger hawk, which flapped its wings and jumped off of Sokka's arm.

"You're just lucky I was wearing that leather arm-guard." he warned her, "Or I'd be the one throwing hands." he stressed, making Toph snicker, seeming amused by the suggestion.

"Oh, sure you wouldn't just be writhing in pain as your arm squirts out blood?" she asked, and he just looked at her blankly; he didn't know whether to be offended by her comment, or just to remain unresponsive, and not give into that prodding question.

He watched as the bird flew off, and headed away from the hilltop, further into the woods, to the west, where, some distance away, Azula's army lay; though he was content to watch it fly off to the horizon, his girlfriend had other ideas as she leaned over towards the stout earthbender, seeming to have something on her mind.

"You do know that Sokka has a stomach, unlike yourself, right? He can face pain without letting out a peep." she made a bold claim that wasn't as true as she might have liked it to be; after facing their training regimen, he was far more accustomed to getting his butt handed to him, but that didn't mean he didn't feel the pain of her blows.

"You've never seen me get hurt." the earthbender retorted, and Azula just grinned.

"Oh, not yet." she forebodingly warned her, and though Toph seemed a little impressed by the retort, she pointed behind herself, keeping a straight face, "Loving the argument, but I'd like to not get caught by the Fire Nation Army."

"But aren't we the Fire Nation Army?" the Water Tribesman proposed, knowing that if one were to accept the Princess as the Fire Lord, that'd mean they were serving in her army, the Fire Nation Army.

"You know what I mean, smart-arse." she snapped back at him, and Sokka smirked as they walked out of the clearing.

"Aha, gotcha." he whispered to himself, only to find a bit of dirt tossed at his head; he was fast enough to duck, but it still whacked his scalp, covering it with a splattering of soil, "Ew." he groaned in disgust, not even turning around.

"You were asking for that one." Azula warned him as he paced ahead, and he gave her the finger, "Ooh, more feisty than usual." she suggestively commented, making him cringe as he shook his head.

"You were just threatening to beat up Toph, but the moment I make a witty comment, I get dirt in my hair. Doesn't seem very fair." he gave his observations to her, and though she seemed a little amused, she kept up a more serious demeanour, if to try and detract from her prior comment.

"It's all fair. You're less of an actual threat, so I can get away with it."

"Don't you mean-" he began, before he stopped himself; she'd phrased it purposefully to insult him, as she would- Azula was Azula, after all, "And I'm the smart-arse?" he grumbled under his breath, earning snickers from both the girls behind him.

As they made their way down the hill, back towards the city, he tried to keep up his pace, knowing that soon enough, one or more patrols would head through the area; even if the benefit of torchlight to warn them, he and Azula still needed her flames to see, so they were forced to keep them dim, and stick together. He must have gotten just a little too far ahead, because he heard a low whistle behind him, and the Water Tribesman stopped himself.

"Don't walk too far ahead. You might trip." Azula made a seeming innocuous comment, but it was obvious she was trying to get him to stay close by, whether so she could continue her banter with Toph, which seemed to involve an unpleasant number of insults thrown his way.

"Don't get angry. You might burn down the whole forest, with us inside." he mirrored her warning, and she looked at him with a annoyed pout, before it shifted; that dastardly smirk that he had grown accustomed to appeared right on her face when the idea of arson came to her mind, "No." he grit his teeth, "That was a joke. Don't actually-" he tried to warn her, and Toph pat the Princess on her back.

"Ah, come on. Zappy can let off a little steam, can't she?" she suggested in jest, and Azula just turned her head, eyeing her with distrust.

"You ruined it." she shot her a glare, "I was going to enjoy scaring Sokka." she lamented, before she continued on ahead, following after her boyfriend, who had decided to just ignore her for the moment; she was in a combative mood, and he had a feeling it had to do with the imminent danger they were in- distracting herself with witty insults, threats and intimidation would at least stop her from thinking about the soldiers who could be just over the ridge from them.

The silence that followed was reassuring, allowing him to focus on the wind he could hear brustling the leaves above his head; it was odd to just pay attention to nature for a moment, waiting for something to strike out at him. Usually when he was off somewhere silent, it was to hunt, but now, he was the one avoiding the hunters, as they were; he realised that was rather funny, if only because he was far more dangerous than any seal to a common Fire Nation soldier. He had Azula by his side, and that kept him confident that they'd make it through whatever dangers they might come to face, but that didn't mean he wouldn't face a struggle.

When he heard footsteps instead of rustling, he turned his head, and clenched a fist, getting his girlfriend to put out the flames she had in her hand, leaving the two of them waiting for Toph's inevitable response; the earthbender stomped her foot down, before she let out a sigh, sounding relieved.

"Oh, it's just Twinkletoes." she assured them with a whisper, and when the flames were relit, Sokka was shocked to see Aang was actually hanging right above them on a tree branch, though unlike them, he didn't seem aware of their presence.

"Ack!" he cried out, grasping out to hold onto the branch so he didn't slip off, "What are you guys doing standing here in the dark?! I could have dropped on you."

"Not getting caught." the Princess retorted snappily, "Get down and come back with us." she demanded, like a parent who'd had enough of their restless child.

He just looked at them awkwardly, and Sokka decided to actually ask him about what he'd been doing, knowing that was better than just waiting for him to just start blabbering about it, "How was Appa?"

"Just eating grass and stuff. Appa stuff. He was happy to see me, but I told him he couldn't go flying off, 'cause it's too dangerous. He didn't like that." he explained, and Toph tilted her head to the side, seeming confused by his explanation.

"And you think he can understand your orders?"

"Sky-bison are smart." he assured her, "Some of the smartest creatures. That's what the monks told me. He gets it... and he isn't a happy guy when he's forced to stay down in the woods. He's got enough food though... and a nice cave to sleep in."

"That's all wonderful and absolutely thrilling to hear, but we need to get along with not getting caught by a patrol." Azula sarcastically acknowledged his explanation, gesturing downhill towards the city, "So, chop-chop and get down."

"Heh, heh." the earthbender girl gave out another chuckle, smirking as she turned towards Sokka, "Is she his mother?" she asked with a tone that was clearly meant to be heard by Azula; the Princess clenched her fists, and grit her teeth, but didn't actually act on whatever feelings she had, just waiting for Aang to climb back down, and when he dropped beside them, she set her feet into motion.

"Mother?" the Air Nomad asked them, obviously not hearing the whole exchange, "Whose mother are we talking about? Hers again?" he asked more quietly as he gestured towards Azula; the Princess didn't have the best relationship with hers, not helped by the fact she hadn't seen her in eight years- Aang, just like Sokka, had had to endure the awkward conversations about that whenever the woman somehow made her way in.

"No, no we're not." Toph assured him, trying to keep a straight face as she followed after the Princess, "Keep a move on. They'll be coming past here pretty soon."

The Water Tribesman didn't comment after all that, knowing that mentioning anything about mothers would just get Azula in a mood; so, with that, the four of them made their way through the dark woods, with only the small blue flame in her palm to guide them along towards the distance flickering of lights that formed the outskirts of Shengchang. Before they had even reached the dried out stream bed, their preferred route of entering the city, the group was forced to to a halt by Toph raising a hand.

"Somebody's following our tracks." she warned them quietly, gesturing behind them, "Probably not Aang's. You used the trees, right?"

"Yeah, mostly." he confirmed with a nod, and the Princess sighed, clearly frustrated they would have to stop, and divert their route now that they had some soldiers following.

"How far?" Sokka asked her, and Toph's eyes widened, twisting her feet around before stomping a foot, which created a narrow but clear hole beside them.

"They are running like scared ostrich-horses right this way." she gave quite a visual answer, and her urgency was made clear when she forcefully grabbed Azula's hand, forcing it shut and the flames out.

Sokka turned around, realising that the flames wielded by the soldiers was visible off in the distance, but they still had time to hide, but as they were in the dark, he was forced to manoeuvre himself into the hole awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't slip as he tried to find the edges. He lowered himself into the hole, and realised it was quite deep, enough so that his head wasn't even peering out the top. The other three quickly followed him in, and Toph widened the hole at the bottom, creating more space for them all to cower in, before she suddenly earthbent something above them. It took him a moment to realise, but it was a fallen log, which rolled right over the hole, covering it entirely, as he could no longer see the starlight above them.

"Shit, this is small." the Princess muttered under her breath, and Aang hushed her, clearly not wanting to be heard when the soldiers inevitably reached them.

The pattering of footsteps soon became audible, first light, before they became louder, along with the light huffing the men were making as they walked, as well as the clinking of their armour pieces; when the footsteps stopped, Sokka tensed up, just hoping they would try a different path, and let them leave.

"There were definitely tracks going this way." he heard a voice above them, before another sounded off, gruff and annoyed.

"Urgh, they're probably covering them up every once in a while to throw us off. Spread out, and keep moving. If these are fresh, we might be able to catch them at the city's edge." he warned the other soldiers that were with him, and with that, the footsteps resumed, now moving away from their hole, slowly quietening; he could still hear the puffs of a soldier's breath above them, and it was soon followed by more speaking.

"Spies, you think?" a voice asked out, and the same gruff voice from before responded.

"Oh, maybe. I'm not privy to the Governor and Lieutenant-General's intelligence reports, but I'd say these people can't just be hunters or children. Nobody would come out here during the night without good reason."

"What if we're just following our own, sir?" the first voice asked, and the gruff voice spoke back once more.

"That'd be pretty funny, Private... but let's just hope nobody's going off of the patrol routes to take a leak." he gave his thoughts before footsteps could be heard again; the two men must have been leaving, heading downhill, probably to return to the city, or to try and take position to catch their group.

Sokka felt comfortable enough to speak, and cleared his throat before doing so, "So... are we going to get out of here?"

"This is where dressing like a soldier would really come in handy." Toph conceded, "But... I've dealt with worse. At least we have the trees for cover. As long as we don't use any more fire, they won't be able to spot us, right?" she asked, and Azula hummed in approval.

"Certainly, but we might trip face first into the dirt or some branches if we try that."

"Don't worry, I don't need any puny eyes to lead us. You all just need to form a line behind me." the earthbender assured them with a confident tone; at a time like that, Sokka appreciated her attitude more than usual, and when the log was slowly pushed out of the way, making a soft thump when it was finally rolled back into its old spot.

Sokka reached his arms up, grasping the edge of the hole, pulling himself up with a single heave, flicking his legs out as he moved into a prone position, eyeing around for any of the searching soldiers, "It's clear." he assured the others, not seeing any light nearby, other than the expected light coming from Shengchang itself.

"Well then, let's get going." Azula declared, leaping out of the hole with surprising ease; she was soon followed by Aang, and then finally by Toph, who closed the hole up after herself.

She stepped past them, Sokka leaning back to avoid her walking into him, but he realised she wouldn't have done that anyway, able to sense exactly where he was; once she reached the front, she tapped him on the shoulder, and he reached forward, grasping her own shoulder, and a few moments later, Aang did the same to him.

"Is everyone holding on?" the earthbender asked the group, and they all responded at once.

"Yes."

"Good, now, keep your heads down, you don't want to hit any stray branches." she warned them, and with that, they began to walk ahead, slowly making their way down hill, winding past trees and bushes as they avoided the dim, but noticeable sources of light that flanked them on either side, presumably coming from the patrolling soldiers.

As they moved along, Sokka kept eyeing from left to right, checking if anyone was approaching, but it seemed that the soldiers were far too eager in their search, and headed quite far away, though he heard a few whistles and shouts, probably to tell them to regroup. When they finally reached the streambed, he could tell due to the sharp slope of the riverbank, and the distinct lack of trees ahead of them; once there, everyone got out of the line, as it was easier to see with the ambient light coming from nearby houses.

"Should we just take the street?" Aang asked her, and the Earth Kingdom girl turned her head, seeming unsure.

"We can't just jump out at any point. The army has checkpoints ahead of here. We'll need to get past them before we climb up." she clarified, and Sokka crossed his arms, thinking they could have just done that when they entered the city the first time instead of going through the sewers.

"Why didn't we do that before?" he asked Azula, knowing that she had chosen their path of entry.

"Because I don't want random commoners questioning why some people climbed out of the stream." she retorted calmly, though he could see enough of her facial expression to know not to test her; he trusted her when it came to planning their safe entry and exit from Shengchang, and if Toph agreed with her view, then he couldn't complain.

"You know, that's a good point." Aang conceded, and with that, consensus was reached, even if Sokka didn't bother to make his opinion known; he agreed anyway, even if he was slightly annoyed that they hadn't even tried the path that didn't smell like faeces.

They made their way down the streambed, Sokka cautiously eyeing the left bank, where the road, and a few houses were located; they were still in the outskirts, but that made it more dangerous, given guards would immediately be suspicious of them being out at night. Supposedly the Governor wanted to enact a curfew, but public opposition had led to that being scrapped, with mandatory checks at every thoroughfare and a closing of the city boundaries the end result. That made it a little harder for them to sneak out of the city, but it would have been immensely harder to scout out Shengchang if the original plan had come to fruition.

"Did you ask why the Governor's plan for a curfew never happened?" he asked his girlfriend, who raised a brow, seeming surprised by that question.

"No." she plainly responded, though her expression told him she was interested by implications of the results, "It would have been a far better strategy to try and keep us out and stop us plotting."

"Maybe they want things to run smoothly here." Toph suggested, "You mightn't realise it, being a Princess and all, but normal people have jobs and businesses; the cash needs to keep flowing."

"The ban, in this case." she corrected her, and the Earth Kingdom girl just shrugged her shoulders.

"You think I care about currency exchange?"

"I'm more surprised you even know about it." Azula conceded, her derisive tone not missing the Water Tribesman, who cringed upon realising what would come of it.

"I'm Toph Beifong, not Toph Nobody. My family's been in the business of trade for centuries... I've learnt a few things when it comes to all of that... though I give a chicken-rat's arse about it. It's all a bunch of mumbo jumbo that doesn't help me in a fight."

"I don't know, that might actually help us, Toph." Sokka noted, realising her knowledge might come in handy eventually, "You know things about trade and... business. We have to deal with businesspeople, and trade. Maybe you can help us negotiate."

"Ah, well, I can certainly negotiate." she smirked, before snapping a finger at Aang, "Oh, speaking of which, I never taught you how to check if somebody's lying, did I, Twinkletoes?"

"Uh, not yet. Sounds harder than just sensing people." he gave his thoughts, not seeming all too confident in learning her impressive ability.

"Well, it won't be all good. Some people just aren't soft in the mind. I can lie to anyone with a straight face." Azula declared proudly, as if that itself was comparable to the ability to just detect lies outright.

"Uh... doesn't really help when your face is plastered everywhere." the Air Nomad boy quietly warned her, as if to remind her that they were still trying to hide from the soldiers.

"Oh, it's not my enemies I need to lie to." she smiled at him, and that seemed to unnerve Aang; obviously, he thought she might be playing him for a fool, like Katara had thought she had been with Sokka himself.

"She doesn't lie to you, by the way. I can tell." he assured him, and Aang raised a brow.

"But if you can't tell a lie from the truth, then how?"

"Because I see how she acts. Past results can help you predict future results. Nobody's as unpredictable as they claim." he argued, and Azula just smirked at him, seeming proud, if only for a moment, by how easily he'd picked up her analytical mindset when it came to people; it had come hand in hand with having to deal with her acute people skills, which could be summed up as knowing how to manipulate and connive, but not how to please or placate.

However, that was the old Azula he was thinking of; the new Azula had learned a thing or two about placating others, or at the very least, acting in a fashion where she could find common ground rather than turning every conversation that wasn't with a willing lesser into an argument. He knew that they had learned from each other, and he wasn't so sure he was happy with the ways she had rubbed off on him; he found himself more concerned about his image and ability to inspire fear and confidence more than he did before, and that was after he'd had the honour, or burden, of protecting his village while the men were away. He had been a bit full of himself when he was younger, even he could admit that now, and just like Azula, it took a little humbling for him to get where he was; getting thrashed by the Princess and her men before being shipwrecked just about took away any of the pride and arrogance he held before then.

"And why do you think you can predict how people will act?" Toph asked him, seeming disbelieving of his prior claim; Sokka just shrugged his shoulders, and smiled sheepishly.

"I don't know... it's just trial and error."

"Doesn't sound like it'd help with people you haven't fought." she argued, and Azula snickered.

"You might think you are, but nobody's really that unique." she retorted, earning a snarl in return; the Water Tribesman was about to try and warn them against throwing mud or fire at each other, but instead, Azula grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down towards the riverbank.

He glanced up, and realised that there was a soldier standing by the top of the bank, just unable to see them due to the darkness that loomed over the streambed; his girlfriend just raised a finger to her lips, not uttering a word. Toph and Aang seemed to have gotten the memo, and the two of them crouched down by the riverbank, creating a bound of dirt with earthbending to ensure they wouldn't be seen so easily.

The soldier just stood there for a few moments, before he sighed, "Urgh, I knew it was nothing... that or somebody's really good at losing us." he spoke up, clearly referring to them; they had only just made it out of the forest, but there was already somebody waiting for them, "I better get back to the Lieutenant." he added, his mental commentary a little amusing, if only because it indicated how much they had frustrated the soldiers who had been following them.

Once he walked off, Sokka turned to face Azula, who just sat there, tense and silent, before she let out a sigh, "Let's get moving. There might be more of them coming around from the other side." she warned them, before she rose to her feet and dashed off down the streambed, the rest of them following not far behind.

Quickly enough, Azula climbed up the riverbank, and though he was still a little concerned about entering the streets so obviously, he knew that they ought to be hasty; if the patrol got around the warehouse first, it would only be a matter of time before they were caught trying to return. Sokka pulled his cloak down from his face, knowing now that it would just be suspicious to have over his head while out in public. The others did the same, dressing down their disguises as they slowed down, walking out onto the street from between two houses. There weren't too many pedestrians out, but a few, given it was still only just past dinner time, and some people would have gone out to eat; he could see a few patrolling guardsmen, but they weren't soldiers, so they didn't concern him in the slightest. So, with that, the group made their way down the main road, beelining towards the warehouse once they reached an alleyway that cut across; soon enough, Sokka made sight of his sister, who had been waiting outside of the warehouse for them, and he could see the relief in her eyes.

When they got close enough, she knocked on the door behind her, which opened up a few moments later, allowing them all to step back inside; the man who'd opened it checked behind them, before turning to face Toph.

"Earthbender, tell me, did you get followed?" he asked, and she just shooed him away.

"We weren't. You can go home now." she assured him, and the man awkwardly stepped past the group.

"Uh, good luck then. I hope to see Shengchang under your rule soon enough, your majesty." he addressed the Princess with a salute, and she almost ignored him, only giving a nod as a pleasantry, before he made his way down the alleyway, heading back to his residence; of course, other than themselves and a few people who didn't have houses, they were the only ones staying in the warehouse overnight- the guard was only there to make sure nobody came in while they were away.

"How'd it go?" Katara asked them, and Sokka just gave her a thumbs up.

"Well, we didn't get caught. That's good enough in my books." he gave his opinion, "Aang checked on Appa, he's fine. So, we're ready to go... assuming the army gets the letter we sent."

"How about the patrols?" she asked them, and Toph chuckled.

"Oh, they weren't that much of a problem. I can sense where I'm going without light, and without the sun to help them spot our hiding spot, they had no chance of catching us." she assured her with a confident tone that never seemed to let up; the Princess stepped past them, before she glanced down the hallway.

"Where's Ty Lee?" she asked, and Katara pointed the opposite way, towards the factory floor.

"Up in the sleeping area. She's still waiting... unless she decided to go to sleep." she explained, and the Princess nodded, before she cracked her knuckles.

"Speaking of which... we will all need a good night's sleep. We still have things to do before the army arrives." she suggested, and Aang sighed.

"Uh, so more sneaking?" he asked, not sounding too enthusiastic; perhaps he wasn't enjoying the thrill of the danger as much as Azula had been, but that didn't surprise Sokka- he was eager to help people out, but throwing himself into danger with little sight of a reward probably wasn't the best way to keep Aang in a good mood about their plans.

"Partly." she conceded, "You'll be of more help when it comes to some negotiating. There's some people we need to get help from." she explained, and he raised a brow.

"I thought we already got that Mister Takumi guy to help him get us some more weapons." he recalled, "Not... not that the people here should have to fight." he added his own opinion, and she shook a finger at him.

"Oh, no, that's not what I'm talking about. I'll be making any more deals with him." she stressed, "I want you and Toph to speak with the Earth Kingdom community here. Supposedly they have a few underground associations, and if you give your identities, I believe they'll be willing to help and divulge some information that might be of use to us." she clarified, and he nodded along.

"Oh, and can they help us start some protests?"

"If they are frustrated enough about the restrictions, then perhaps all they'll need is a little suggestion." she conceded, "They'll need to time it, however. Nightfall, tomorrow. Perhaps a evening march. That'll keep the guards and soldiers on their toes." she explained, "I've already discussed our own protest with Kibo, but that's going ahead no matter what."

"What about me... or Ty Lee?" Katara asked, and the Princess furrowed a brow.

"There's still intelligence to be gathered. If you are able, tailing some bureaucrats or soldiers might help... but I doubt you'd want to head back into City Hall." she conceded, the Water Tribe girl stepping back.

"No way. Not without Toph's help." she gave her condition, and the earthbender just raised her hands up, as if she was surrendering.

"Sorry, Sugar Queen, my hands are tied. Her majesty needs things done." she denied her request, Katara's expression softening.

"Well... it wouldn't hurt to get a better look around the city. Maybe we can find something interesting... something you couldn't find in those records."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Sokka admitted, "They wouldn't write everything down, especially the things they want nobody finding out about, even the bureaucrats." he suggested, and Toph tapped her chin in thought.

"If there's anything hidden underground, I'm sure I could find it with a walk around the city." she noted, "I'll make sure to do that before the army arrives... maybe I'll find something you didn't even know you needed."

"Hey, don't stela my job." Katara warned her, and Azula snickered.

"And I thought you weren't eager." she observed, seeming pleased with her attitude, before narrowing her eyes, "I myself, have other things to do."

"Persuade traitors?" Sokka guessed, and she raised her chin, smirking as she must have been imagining her plans coming to fruition, "You mean return them to the fold." she corrected him, and Toph stepped past them.

"Well, that's all fine and fun, but I'm going to sleep... we're gonna need as much of tomorrow as we can get." she spoke her mind as she strode back towards the sleeping quarters, soon followed by Aang, who must have been thinking the same thing.

"Uh, yeah, I... uh, I'll do that too." he decided, and Katara eyed the couple for a moment, before shaking her head.

"Alone time?" she suggested, "I got it." she assured them, before leaving them be, her smile unnerving Sokka somewhat; whatever she was thinking, it was probably not whatever Azula would want to talk to him about.

"So... what's the plan, for real?" he asked her more bluntly, hoping she'd fill him in on the details.

"I need you to get me into the base, and I realise that you're the only one who can risk not getting recognised and actually understands our protocols... that being the Fire Nation Army's." she clarified, and he scratched his chin.

"So that's why you made me come here with my armour." he concluded, and she looked at him sceptically.

"Are you forgetting the battle we're going to be fighting in about a day?" she retorted, before shaking her head, leaning herself up against the wall, "So, will you do it?"

"Wait, I have a choice?" he asked, genuinely surprised she'd even suggest there was a choice in the matter; he was the best suited, as she was saying, so he couldn't see how it wasn't an order.

"I'm not lording over you while nobody's looking." she reminded him, "I'll do it myself if it's necessary."

"No, you don't need to." he assured her, "I want to help... more than just walking around in the woods and sending letters."

"I thought so." she smiled briefly, before she grasped her nose bridge, "This won't be easy. You're going to need to play along, and not with a joke name like Wang Fire this time."

"Yeah, no I got that... but, Lieutenant Fire does have a nice ring to it." he suggested, only joking, but she pointed at him accusingly.

"Don't even try it. You can't fathom how stupid it sounds."

"Oh, I'm well aware. I just like annoying you." he smirked back at her, glad he could just one up her with the mere idea he'd create a stupid character to play for her very serious task, "But more importantly, how is Wang Fire going to persuade anybody to join your side?"

"You aren't. You're just going to get me to them."

"Won't Toph be better for that... you know with seismic sense and all?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"You're better at acting, even if she's a human lie detector." she argued, "And you'll just have to get to those soldiers, and talk them into taking a patrol. Claim you've seen some suspicious things... I'm sure it'll work well- they seem like the eager to work types."

"How would I get into the base?"

"You just need to act purposeful, and bring a sense of urgency. They'll just think you need to go to the bathroom, or you've got a message for somebody important."

"From somebody important, you mean." he corrected Azula, whose eyes rolled at the sign of him saying something witty.

"You aren't my messenger, you're my sword." she grasped his arm, and he laughed off her change in tone.

"Your boomerang." he joked, and instead of getting annoyed, she just kissed him on the cheek.

"That's right, because you always come back... and hit the enemy when they least expect it."